Trapped With You
by RoyallyMadHatter
Summary: Shiroe is starting to think that he's less trapped by the video game than he is trapped by his boyfriend. (KrustyxShiroe) (Drabbles, One-shots, etc) (SHONEN-AI/BOYXBOY) (Many credits to Kagari Higuchi for being my lovely plot bunny!) Accepting requests (PM MEEE) and this fanfic is being translated to French thanks to haruno .satsujin!
1. Sleeptalking

*****4/7/15 UPDATE: I made a KruShi tumblr**. YEYEYEYYEYEY it's krustyxshiroe dot tumblr. (there's a link on my profile)

its really simple, please check it out :D i made it so i can post more often  
i can respond quickly with short fics and drabble things and more smut (im actually going to try okay so KINK IT UP)  
there's also a royallymadhatter page that will have my current projects and sometimes the date i plan on putting them up - if you're curious  
note: there will be a notice just like this on chapter 16 because that's where this is up to right now

anyway back to chapter one...

* * *

OMGEE this pairing. All of those hidden moments and UGH why is there no fanbase for them!

I wrote this to calm my feels and I hope I can make an actual story for them someday. Drabbles are all I can manage right now though.

I'll try to add plot and stuff but... uhh... just go with it for now. XD

* * *

"You dream about me _every_ night. I'm flattered, really."

Shiroe feels a shiver go down his spine at Krusty's voice. He squints his eyes and doesn't move his cheek from its place on a lumpy pillow. Instead, he propels his arm in an attempt to punch the source of the irritating voice. It doesn't make contact with a face, unfortunately, and his fist is caught easily.

Before he can yank his hand back, another hand is wrapped around his wrist and he's pulled forward close enough to feel warmth radiating from Krusty's body.

"Who says I dream about _you_?" Shiroe pushes his bangs to the side and rubs at his eyes. The hand around his wrist loosens but doesn't let go.

"You." Krusty pushes Shiroe's hand away and pins it to the bed to stop him from rubbing at his eyes.

"I thought we agreed that I lie more than I tell the truth." Shiroe whines while attempting to free his hand.

"I think the sheer embarrassment of what you reveal when you sleeptalk is enough to prove it's all the truth." Krusty smirks and pulls Shiroe closer so their bodies touch.

"What did I reveal, hmm?" Behind his calm demeanor, Shiroe secretly hopes that he didn't say anything near what he dreamt about.

"Oh nothing, just moaning my name in that adorable voice of yours," Krusty slips his hand underneath Shiroe's t-shirt and lunges forward to whisper in his ear, "over and over again."

Shiroe wants to die so badly. But screw this world-he would just come back.

When he groans in frustration, Krusty just chuckles and proceeds to passionately kiss the life out of the eager and embarrassed half-Alv.

Technically, Krusty had exaggerated some of the details of Shiroe's sleeptalking habits but it was definitely worth it. It was too much fun to mess with Shiroe's mind and jumble up the prodigy's thoughts.

* * *

Umm... I actually made another drabble... but I don't usually post such... suggestive...erm.. things. ^/^ if you're interested... well don't be.

or let me know. cause I can hook you up. LOL. running away now.

**EDIT** Chapter 2 is the drabble ;3


	2. Maintenance

Omg this is so short. But **Kagari Higuchi**, your review was so fast that I needed to get this out like now. LOL.

Especially since I might not be able to post anything for the next two days. ;A;

Dedicated to you and hopefully we'll be joined by other Krusty/Shiroe shippers? :D

**AHEM. COUGH COUGH THIS IS A BIT MORE YAOI ZONED, but there's no #$ %!^ yet. So it's kinda light. Or kinda heavy for some people, I guess?**

* * *

"Stay here. I'll be back soon."

"You're not giving me much of a choice, are you?!"

"This is what happens when you try to hide things from me. You're terrible at that by the way, Shiroe-_kun_."

"I wasn't hiding anything, you just never asked! And you can't call someone terrible at hiding things when you're just too good at eavesdropping."

"Not eavesdropping-maintenance."

"You hacked into my messaging system."

"Maintenance."

"Was this really necessary?"

Krusty had handcuffed Shiroe's hands behind his back, tied him to the bed, kept his magic items _far_ far away and forced a pill down his throat-during a kiss-that would keep him from using magic for a long period of time.

"God you thought of everything." Shiroe struggled to get out of the handcuffs which ultimately failed. A line of saliva spilled down his chin from when Krusty forced the pill into his mouth (despite his violent resisting) and it was so tempting.

"I even told Akatsuki that I would be ravishing you all day today." Krusty smiled at the thought of the blushing retreating assassin. He would definitely ravish him later that day, but there were some more pressing things that he needed to deal with.

"You're horrible." Shiroe panted as he tried to recover his breath from thrashing around so much. He gasped as he started feeling sleepy.

"You didn't." He said as he felt his eyelids getting heavier.

"I'll make it up to you later." Krusty leaned forward and the last thing Shiroe remembered was being kissed before he had drifted off to sleep.

Krusty knew where Shiroe's ex-boyfriend was and he had important plans to send him to the Cathedral a few... hundred times.

* * *

Shipppppp. Plus it's just a close friend of Shiroe's but Krusty doesn't believe him anyway.

Krusty will forever be his one and only.


	3. Subclass

:) umbreonblue I agree with you~ Shiroe is more of the villain though ;D

Sorry guys, I spent less time on this drabble mostly because I'm a bit tired. I just wanted to relax a bit so I wrote this up. Hope you enjoy it! :D

* * *

"You should have made your subclass a Dancer." Krusty stated with a smirk as he sliced at the enemies in front of them.

"You should have made your subclass a Cleaner." Shiroe smirked back and used Thorn Bind Hostage on the enemies in front of Krusty.

"You should've been a Housekeeper." Krusty pushed up his glasses and destroyed the binded enemies.

"You should've been a Fortune Teller." Shiroe pushed up his glasses and examined the stats windows.

"Dairy Farmer."

"Brewer."

They both looked at each other while simultaneously destroying the enemies around them. Krusty looked like he was contemplating what to say when a smile spread across his face.

"Butler. I think it suits you."

Shiroe bit his lip and Krusty laughed at his failed attempt to think of anything worse. But then Shiroe sneered back at him.

"Elder Maid. _I think it suits you._"

"Hey, that's cheating. It's only a subclass for the people of the land."

"I'm a scribe. I can make it happen for you." Shiroe zapped the enemies in front of them and Krusty pictured him sneaking a contract on his desk. He made a mental note to actually read everything thoroughly from now on.

"Your turn." Shiroe said triumphantly as he faked a yawn.

"Don't get impatient now, princess." Krusty dodged an incoming punch and suddenly it came to him.

"Rose Garden Princess."

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

Krusty had to avoid a Nightmare Sphere this time, but he used the chance to pull Shiroe towards him into a kiss.

"I think they forgot we were here." Naotsugu hid his laugh in his hand and Akatsuki covered her eyes. Shiroe made incoherent noises and extinguished his Magic Light so they wouldn't be putting on a show.

"It's an open secret by now." Misa sighed. Members of D.D.D. just snickered.

"With that, we'll be on our way." Krusty suddenly disappeared taking Shiroe with him.

* * *

To clear some things up:

Log Horizon wiki (which is awesome btw) has information on all of the subclasses. AND believe it or not. Rose Garden Princess is a subclass. Raynesia has it. XD

The definition for the Butler subclass was like so $%)*(&amp;%^##&amp;$^#*%*(*%#*^$%#&amp;

Notice how Krusty picks all the hawt subclasses for Shiroe. Yup.

And yes this was pretty OOC and I apologize, but the next one will be better hopefully.

I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THESE SUBCLASSES. It was just aiming towards things that Shiroe and Krusty wouldn't be comfortable doing. :3

Misa is that girl that's always with Krusty. I don't plan on putting any OCs in these drabbles.

I guess this is a D.D.D. and Log Horizon raid or something. Yes, the guild leaders abandoned their guilds in the middle of a dungeon.


	4. Telepathy

EiraLuna, Hyoketsu, Sirae: Awhhhh, I'm glad you guys like it!

Kagariiiiii, I love youuuuuuu.

Hope you guys like this one-cough-its a bit yaoi-ish SO BRACE YOURSELVES.

Idea credited to Kagari Higuchi! ;D ;D ;D This is a spin-off of episode 12 when Shiroe is using telepathy to talk to Minori.

Check out the author's note at the bottom!

* * *

"Shiroe-san? Can you talk right now?"

"Oh, Minori. What's up?" Shiroe smiled at the sound of his pupil's voice. She was probably going through some difficulties just like he did during his first dungeon.

"Tomorrow we're going to a dungeon."

Shiroe figured Minori was also probably insecure about her current level. He looked up at the ceiling and leaned back on the couch.

"Worried? It's true that at your current level, it may be a bit rough." Suddenly, Shiroe felt the couch sink and pried his gaze away from the ceiling towards a familiar body. He took in a quick breath before being suddenly hyperaware of a knee sliding between his legs. Using both of his hands he tried to push the other away when his wrists were grabbed.

"I'm worried I'll slow everyone down." Shiroe wanted _Krusty_ to slow down. He suddenly felt pressure on his lips when a tongue slipped in. Thank god this was telepathy and he could control he wanted to say.

"Naotsugu and the other trainers won't be there..." He sent Krusty a glare but the latter just smirked and flipped them around so Shiroe landed on his lap.

"Listen to me, Minori..." He felt Krusty roll his hips and he couldn't move from where he was. A firm grip on his hips made him squirm pathetically.

"You aren't... aren't alone." He was trying to come up with something more clever than that when Krusty decided to run his hands under his shirt. He touched _ everywhere_.

"And there's...there's more to a battle than-than your level." Krusty began to suck on his neck and he **really** didn't want a mark there since it would be such a bad impression to the People of the Land and-oh god was he pinching his-ugh.

"Do you remember... the basics... of party combat that I-I taught you?" He sighed when Krusty began to blow on his neck and that was his worst weakness-which he couldn't believe Krusty found out about so soon in their relationship. Shiroe struggled to get away when Krusty flipped them one more time and he was sprawled across the couch.

"Oh, yes! Just a second..." He was trying to tell the same thing to Krusty but he wasn't going to give him any milliseconds, let alone one.

"Formation, operator, field monitor... And patrol teams, right?" Krusty started licking at his ear and he couldn't breathe when a knee dropped snugly between his legs despite his desperate attempts to keep them closed. A tongue slipped between his lips for the second time that day and he was **not** going to corrupt Minori.

"If you remember...remember-remember that, you'll be alright. You can do-do it." Shiroe slapped his head mentally at his terrible concentration.

"Are you alright, Shiroe-san? You sound like you're struggling with something."

"No! No, I'm fine. I just-" Shiroe suddenly realized Krusty wasn't doing anything at the moment which couldn't mean anything good. He noticed an invite to a group telepathy floating in the air and Krusty made him tap it.

"Hi Minori, bye Minori." Krusty said and immediately ended the entire chat by manipulating Shiroe some more.

"What the-"

"I think you've done enough flirting for one day, Shiroe-kun."

"Why did you-I wasn't-she's like a middle schooler-ah."

And let's just say that the next day when they were eating, Krusty did not ask if he slept well for the reason everyone else thought.

* * *

I hope you guys liked this chapter and my weirdness.

If you ever want a certain idea or drabble written up then feel free to review/pm me it.

I felt like I had something else to say... but I forgot, of course. LOL

:3 bye then.


	5. Quest Me

To my reviewers with accounts, I'm sending you private messages ;D

**Uhuhu**: haha I see what you did there. I'll probably make something err mature-ish in the future, but it might be a side story. Make an account so I can stalk youuuu XD

There are some round table members that you might not recognize, no OCs.

And also that awkward drabble that I mentioned in Chapter 1 is actually Chapter 2. ;D

Once again kudos to Kagari Higuchi for the idea and the pretty title! ^^ d'awh I love you so much afjghernjdsvnbfw.

* * *

"He's late." Isaac drums his fingers on the table.

"That's rare for Shiroe-senpai." Soujirou says worriedly.

"Maybe Krusty-san knows where he is." Karashin grins. Krusty smiles back unfazed.

"Dating isn't the same as stalking, Karashin-san." The others laugh and Karashin bites his lip.

"Actually, I believe Shiroe said something about Log Horizon undertaking a quest this morning. I didn't think he'd be so late." Marielle says in concern.

"All of Log Horizon's members are level 90, are they not?" Eins crosses his arms.

"There are some members who are beginners, but they didn't go on this mission." Marielle runs a hand through her hair.

"That evil guy taking in beginners huh." Michitaka chuckles a little at the thought.

"What quest did he take?" Krusty leans back in his chair.

"I don't know... but he isn't answering my calls. I'll try calling the others." Marielle says. But at that moment, the door flings open.

"Guys! During the quest, Shiroe..." Naotsugu pauses to catch his breath.

"He... suddenly passed out." Naotsugu glances quickly at Krusty who raised his eyebrow.

"Lack of sleep maybe?" Roderick suggests but Naotsugu shakes his head in reply.

"Well actually..." Naotsugu pauses for a minute.

"Go on." Isaac rests his chin on the palm of his hand.

"...the quest we went on was a hidden quest. After we completed it, the quest giver said the quest wasn't over yet and put him to sleep."

"Where's the quest giver?" Akaneya asks.

"She disappeared. There's a quest mark hovering over Shiroe, but there's no hint as to what it means. No matter what we do, he won't wake up."

"We'll hold off on the Round Table topics today. We need Shiroe-kun awake soon, especially since people might try to take advantage of his absence." Woodstock announces.

"We're leaving him in his room until we figure out what to do." Naotsugu scratches his head.

"Why don't we discuss how to get him awake?" Isaac motions for Naotsugu to sit down. He takes Shiroe's seat.

"What was the name of the quest giver? Is there anything important about her that could be a clue?" Roderick offers.

"I think her name was 'Mistress of All Evil'." Naotsugu shrugs.

"Typical Shiroe-senpai." Soujirou shakes his head.

"But seriously-you guys did a quest for someone named 'Mistress of All Evil'?" Michitaka tilts his head disbelievingly.

"I mean technically NPCs _are_ given obscure names. I remember one named "Annoying Girl" or something." Karashin mentions.

"Annoying Girl and Mistress of **ALL EVIL** are two different things, man." Michitaka replies.

"I think we're getting off point, gentlemen." Eins sighs.

"Don't worry, I'll figure it out." Krusty stands up and walks out of the room.

"Wait where are you-ah nevermind." Isaac rolls his eyes.

"So um. Was Annoying Girl hot?" Michitaka asked.

"Actually she was-"

"Guys." Akaneya sighs.

"She turned out to be a Soujirou fan so."

"Ah."

"GUYS."

* * *

Krusty made it to Shiroe's room and put away his armor in favor of some light clothing. Entering the room, he noticed Shiroe lying on his bed and as Naotsugu had said, there was a bright question mark over his head.

Ignoring it, Krusty sat on the side of the bed and watched the other tenderly. He lazily brings his hand up towards Shiroe's hair and runs his hand through it.

The defenseless half-alv reminds Krusty of the many times Shiroe had fallen asleep waiting for him to come home. It was cute, really.

"What are you trying to do, Shiroe-kun?" Krusty says, letting it sink into the air.

"Because if you're trying to run away," he leans down so their faces are centimeters apart, "it won't work." He closes the space between their lips and kisses him.

Suddenly, Shiroe's eyes flutter open and he makes a squeamish noise. Once he realizes that it's Krusty, he calms down and his eyes dilate. He starts to kiss back passionately, when Krusty pulls away with a laugh. He pouts a little and then starts to get up.

"I'm guessing Naotsugu was able to figure the quest out, right?" Shiroe rubs his eyes and Krusty gently turns his yawning boyfriend's head towards him into another kiss.

Midway, he smirks, "Nope. He had no idea."

* * *

"What, are you stupid or something?!" Shiroe aims toward Naotsugu as he enters the round table conference room.

"Shiro, you're awake! Wait what?" Naotsugu tilts his head unknowingly.

"Oh my god. You're an idiot." Shiroe pushes him out of his chair and sits down slamming his head against the table.

"Huh?" Naotsugu gets up and the others listen in.

"The quest giver turned into a green witch, with black horns."

"So...?"

"She had a black and purple cape, a yellow staff and a _raven_."

"Wasn't it a parrot?"

"She turned into a dragon, Naotsugu."

"What are you getting at?"

The others in the room who had finally understood, either facepalmed or found the situation extremely amusing. Krusty was one of the latter.

"You've never heard of sleeping beauty?!"

"Wait, but wasn't the witch named Maleficent?"

"She calls herself the Mistress of Evil." Isaac explains.

"Didn't you have to prick your finger on a spinning wheel?" Naotsugu asked.

"...I did." Shiroe sighs because somehow Naotsugu had forgotten the most obvious clue in the stupid quest.

"Didn't you hear me shout 'ow', when I accepted the quest reward-a magic spinning wheel?"

"Oh right, but I thought that was just because it hurt when the quest giver made you fall asleep or something."

"I guess that makes you the one who messed up," Krusty moves up to whisper the last part into his ear, "_Shiroe-kun_."

"Wait, so Krusty woke you up?" Naotsugu asks this time with a smile, knowing exactly what he's asking. Isaac and Karashin burst into laughter somewhere in the background.

Shiroe earned the title 'Sleeping Beauty' and as punishment, Krusty makes him keep it up (hovering above his name) for a week. He decides to stay in his locked room for the week doing paperwork and Krusty takes a leave from his guild to spend time with a very annoyed Shiroe.

On the last day, Krusty pulls something out and teleports them both into Akihabara where they hear many many whistles and catcalls. Shiroe was not amused.

* * *

Okay, I guess Shiroe pricking his finger by accident on the quest reward was a bit of a stretch. But hey, why not?

If you play mmorpg games like me, then you'll probably know what the title thing is. Grand Fantasia and Aura Kingdom have them where you earn titles and can put them over your head. :D

Hope you enjoyed this and just so you guys know, from now on the chapters will be more like one-shots instead of drabbles (though I might post a drabble if I don't have enough time to write).

;D reviews?


	6. Spoon Violation

You guys are so sweeeeeeet! :D

I should have sent replies to those of you who reviewed, if not please feel free to hit me

...up. Hit me up. (heehee) ;D

So I basically received requests for a remake of the episode 22 which is the cake buffet episode. This will take place during the cake buffet episode and it's an AU.

This one is a drabble, but I'm willing to continue it if you guys shoot me some more ideas. BUT I FEEL SO BAD FOR GOING MISSING, THIS IS GOING UP EARLY. (School is taking over my life omg sorry)

I hope you all enjoy this and of course another shout-out to Kagari Higuchi! :D

* * *

"If we go as a couple then we'll get free cake!"

Shiroe watches as the girls look at each other in shock at saying the same thing.

"So we should go together!" They say in unison and stare at each other once again. He scratches the back of his neck and takes a deep breath. He's extremely tempted to say yes, but then a shiver goes down his spine and he realizes that his life would be in danger if he doesn't somehow refuse them.

While he's thinking of a clever response to smoothly get through this, he gets a telepathy call. Excusing himself from the pouting girls, he accepts the call without bothering to read the name. This would buy more time to think of a good excuse and-

_"Shiroe-kun."_

The shivers come back immediately. Shiroe's mind goes blank and the excuses he might've thought up of are long gone.

God, the voice Krusty uses is literally the same as his sex voice.

"Yes?" Shiroe realizes that he says that in a higher pitch which doesn't make sense because how does your voice crack in your head?

"You're doing it again."

"What?" Shiroe needs his thought voice to hurry up and hit puberty or else it'll hit levels that it won't be able to recover from.

"That thing that happens to your voice when there's something you don't want me to know." Krusty sounds extremely amused as Shiroe pleads to himself to fix that someday.

"And how would _you_ know this?" Shiroe is pleased with his fierce retort and the lack of response from the other end. But then Krusty's voice becomes deeper and... _closer._

"Because when we have sex and you're trying to stay quiet-" Shiroe makes really loud coughing noises, not only in his head but also out loud and the two girls simply eye him suspiciously.

"But that's-"

"I always find out eventually. You of all people should know that, Shiroe-kun."

"Augh-I'll take care of it now, so _**bye**_." Shiroe immediately hung up and turned towards the two girls. He took a deep breath and gave them both a little pleading wink.

"I'm actually going with Krusty-san." He held back the blush that was threatening to show on his face.

"Oh." The two girls stared in awe and they ended up giggling a little.

"In that case, Shiroe-san, we hope you have fun!" Minori hid a smile behind her hand.

"It's umm not exactly in the way you think-" _It was probably exactly what she thought._

* * *

"I didn't know you were into strawberry." Shiroe motioned towards the shortcake on the table.

"Oh?"

"I pegged you to be more of a chocolate person." Shiroe poked a cheesecake with his spoon and spun it inside. The idea of getting free cake was nice, but they didn't particularly need to save money or anything.

Gently, he felt his wrist being pulled, Krusty taking his spoon and licking the cheesecake off of it.

"I like cheesecake too." He smirked, then loosened his grip on Shiroe's wrist and Shiroe smoothly slipped out.

"Stop violating my spoon please." He hid his smile and took another bite.

"Are you saying I should violate something else?" Krusty said while resting his cheek on the palm of his hand.

"Soujirou isn't into you, sorry." Shiroe answered smoothly, smiling without looking away from his cake.

"Ah, that's too bad." Krusty leaned back in his chair.

"Do you two want anymore cake?" A pretty looking waitress shuffled up to them clearly undecided on who she liked better.

"I think Shiroe-kun wants another one." Krusty smiled politely and Shiroe rolled his eyes.

"What type?" She aimed the question to Shiroe, but Krusty responded.

"The weirdest one you have."

Shiroe almost choked on his cake. Krusty held back a laugh.

"Bring one for Krusty-san too." Shiroe mentally high-fived himself for the look of slight irritation on Krusty's face.

"Coming right up!" She giggled and ran off. She was probably a shipper, actually.

"Wow, that was mature." Shiroe took another bite of cake. Krusty reached over to wipe off some remnants of cake on Shiroe's face with a napkin. The action was so natural that they both thought nothing of it.

"I wonder what the weirdest flavor is, though." Krusty chuckled.

"Oh my god, if its goblin-flavored then you're eating it. Like seriously, you aren't even allowed to pay for it and run away."

"Okay, well if it isn't goblin-flavored then I get to feed you."

"What."

* * *

Sorry guys, I really had nowhere to go with this one. I left it at that because my imagination is failing me right now. JDFKASGJSKLJ save me

I might possibly continue this drabble if you guys shoot me some ideas? PWEESEEEE

AND SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE AGAIN UGH SCHOOL.

The next fic will probably be angsty and feely (I'll be using one of my own ideas for that one) so look forward to it maybe? ^^


	7. Close Your Eyes (Part 1)

Does anyone hear that?

It sounds like... SPRING BREAK. OMG WHAT.

Hikaru Einsberg: MAKE AN ACCOUNT SO I CAN STALK YOUUUUU LOLOLOL AND D'AWH IM GLAD YOU'RE NOW A SHIPPER **latches onto you**

I went on a tiny hiatus because yeah. BUT THIS IS THE BREAK SO. It's not my fault because life. We have to wait until fall for LG and I cry.

SORRY ABOUT MY INABILITY TO FINISH SENTENCES.

I'm not sure if I really pulled off the whole angst thing correctly but for a first shot, I don't think I completely butchered any KruShi. XD

ENJOY!

* * *

Getting up in the morning felt like dying over and over again.

He wasn't surprised anymore. The long nights in bed staring out the window. The curtains blowing in and out and in and out and in and out.

How long has it been since he had an actual night of sleep?

Shiroe writes up plans, he solves problems. When the people around him start to whisper "when does this guy sleep?" it takes all the strength he has to not shout out the truth. That he _doesn't_ sleep. Of course, nobody seemed to think it was possible to _not_ sleep and frankly it isn't. But they didn't know that he couldn't go for more than an hour before he jolted awake at night. The insomnia was probably permanent.

It all started on the day he found out he was trapped in Elder Tale. That small hope that the logout button was broken disappeared after the first month. The idea of having powers and being invincible was entertaining, yes. He was sure many would **die** to be in his position. Then again, those people don't know what it feels like to really **die**. Life wasn't meant to be a dream and he wanted to wake up from this one.

Maybe that was why his body wouldn't let him sleep. All he could do is wake up until he was _tired _of sleeping.

Every minute his mind slips to thoughts of dying. Thoughts of suicide. Even though he knows he can't die, maybe he won't wake up this time.

He doesn't even feel it when the knife slices through his chest and he wakes up in the Cathedral. He can't tell if any of his memories are missing, but a part of him can't help but want to forget.

* * *

"Shiroe-kun."

Whatever he was thinking about took a moment to flicker in his mind and slowly evaporate. Krusty observed him, waiting for a response.

"Um-sorry what?" The surroundings around Shiroe started to fill in and he turned his attention back to the members of the Round Table.

"What are we deciding to do about it?" Isaac pressed, rapping his fingers on the table. Shiroe didn't know how to respond to that without revealing that he wasn't listening the whole time. Luckily, Krusty cut in.

"It's been a long day, so let's call it a day for now. We'll pick up here tomorrow."

As if it was an announcement from the school principal, the others in the room stretched their arms out and funneled out of the room. It took Shiroe a few seconds to figure out that Krusty stayed behind.

"We were talking about the group that's camping outside Akihabara and requesting to be admitted in the town." Krusty said and Shiroe nodded. There was an awkward silence when Krusty stood up, his chair disappearing.

"You should get some sleep." He turned around and left the room before Shiroe could properly thank him.

* * *

Shiroe didn't think it would be a good idea to let the group outside Akihabara in their town without learning more about them. The Round Table had sent some spies to investigate the group, but they could only figure out a few important things: their names, classes, levels and appearances.

The group consisted of five people, all men. They were two assassins, two guardians and a priest. Surprisingly, the priest was the only level 90 while the others in the group were around the 70s. It would be a problem if a powerful group like that were to cause trouble in the town.

Normally, it wouldn't have been suspicious but apparently there were reports of player killing in the area just before this group had shown up.

The player kills were all by surprise so nobody was identified. Would this group be silly enough to show up right after killing other players? Did they assume the town wouldn't find out about it? Was it a way to throw them off? Were they even involved at all?

Shiroe sighed. He was getting nowhere fast. He needed to confront the group himself or else he wouldn't be able to make a proper decision.

Standing up from his desk, he walked over to his bedroom door and stayed in front of it for a while. Running his fingertips along the wood, he made a little scratch in it. It automatically repaired itself and Shiroe didn't move. Should he try to sleep?

Pulling away from the door, he walked back to his desk to finish the paperwork for next month.

* * *

"We should take a few representatives to confront the group today. I think Isaac, Marielle and I should go." Shiroe rested his cheek on his palm and stared down at some papers with photos and information related to the group.

"I guess confronting them would be a good idea." Krusty nodded.

"Krusty-san should stay here and lead the discussion on the other topics while we investigate. I suggested Marielle to come because she could show that we mean no harm to them." Shiroe flipped through the pages without looking up and Marielle made a small noise of agreement.

"Alright then, it's settled. Let's head out." Isaac rose from his seat and led them out.

* * *

"It's nice to meet you." The priest greeted them with the other group members close behind him.

"Likewise." Shiroe shook his hand and examined them closely. It looked like the priest was in charge here as he thought.

"So have you considered our request to enter Akihabara?" He said with a crooked smile.

Right to the point. Shiroe felt like something was off about him. Maybe they were just looking for any place to stay.

"We're sorry about making you wait. There's been reports of several player killings in the zone you were in right before you were spotted in front of the town." Shiroe explained and waited for a reaction.

"I see, but that wasn't us. Can we go into town now?" The priest said and Shiroe could've sworn he saw him tap his foot on the floor.

"I'm afraid that isn't enough to assure us." Isaac stepped up a little bit. Isaac was definitely comforting to have around.

"You're accusing us of player killing when you don't even know for sure?! That's low-we've been traveling for so long and-"

"It'll only take a few minutes to confirm and then you'll be welcome in." Marielle exclaimed brightly.

"Are you going to fight us?" Another one of them spoke up while resting his hand on what seemed like a long sword.

"Please don't misunderstand. We just need to check your player kill status." Shiroe pushed his glasses up.

"Player kill status? Since when was there something like that?" The priest looked a bit wary.

"The Round Table did some hacking and discovered a way to check to see if a player killed anyone before. It's quite reliable and it will only take a few minutes." Shiroe stepped towards the priest who hastily stepped away.

"Well, you should explain what you plan on doing before I let you do anything." The priest said rather quickly.

"It's a spell that Shiroe developed." Isaac motioned towards him.

"I don't think this is going to be safe-"

"Is there some other reason why you wouldn't want us to check?" Shiroe raised his eyebrows.

"Well-no matter if we killed people-it would be inhumane to cast us out. You don't own the game and you're just like all of us." The priest exclaimed angrily.

"And killing other players isn't inhumane?" Isaac curled his hand into a fist.

"Well that's-"

"Get out of my sight." Isaac glared at them as he turned around. Shiroe followed behind with Marielle close behind.

"You didn't need to be so harsh about it! Maybe there was a reason-" Marielle started but Shiroe stopped her.

"What he did was right. That group harmed people in the town." Shiroe explained.

"Exactly. And Shiroe, I'm a bit worried that you can lie so easily." Isaac smirked.

"You should be cautious of me." Shiroe replied smoothly. Eventually he would be able to use world class magic which would let him alter the system. But for now, it would have to wait. He took a moment to look back at the five outsiders who were discussing something amongst themselves.

Suddenly, a wave of sleepiness hit Shiroe like a bullet. His vision began to swim and the high pitched voice of Marielle calling out to him was drowned out by the fuzziness.

Then he blacked out.

* * *

"Sleep deprivation?"

"Yes, he should be fine after some more rest."

"That's good to hear."

"Um there's something else."

"What is it?"

"It seems like Shiroe-kun hasn't been sleeping at all recently."

"Really?"

"He's been out for only an hour and it looks like he's going to wake up soon."

"Should we put him under a sleeping spell?"

"I think sedatives would work better."

Shiroe sighed and sat up in bed, startling the two men.

"Are you okay?" Eins stared cautiously at him as if he had committed some type of crime. It just added to the headache Shiroe was trying to snap out of. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath.

"Yeah I'm fine." Shiroe moved to get up but Krusty lifted a sword to his neck and wordlessly stopped him. Eins gave Krusty a look as if questioning Shiroe's response.

"If this is the how you treat patients in this hospital, I would hate to be a janitor here." Shiroe pushed the sword away.

"He's fine. Still has enough energy to be cheeky." Krusty ignored his remark and Shiroe contemplated throwing a pillow at him.

"I'll be back to check on him but I have some matters to attend to. Aren't you busy with D.D.D.?" Eins raised an eyebrow.

"I have some time." Krusty answered and Eins left the room.

"Thanks a lot, but I should really get out of bed now." Shiroe waited for a response and when he didn't get one, he draped his legs over the side of the bed.

"Why haven't you been sleeping?" Krusty asked and Shiroe shrugged.

"I don't know."

"You know that's not the answer I'm looking for."

Shiroe crossed his arms and pursed his lips.

"Well too bad because that's the answer I gave you. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Why are you trying to endure on your own?" Krusty asked with seemingly no weight on his words. However, Shiroe could feel the genuine curiosity in them.

"Because it's better that way." Shiroe walked past him and out the door.

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be up right now?" Soujirou asked Shiroe who flipped through some papers.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He looked up and smiled, convincing them to begin the meeting.

"That group from earlier seems to have disappeared. None of my scouts could find them." Isaac spoke up.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Michitaka asked casually.

"They were pretty adamant about coming into town though." Marielle pitched in.

"Does it really matter at this point? I think we should move on to issues we can address." Eins said. After a moment of silence, Shiroe realized that they all seemed to be waiting on his opinion.

"Yeah, we should." Shiroe nodded.

The meeting was finished after a few hours and Shiroe once again found himself in front of his bedroom. He decided on turning away but then he received a telepathic call.

It was from Krusty.

"Is something the matter?" Shiroe answered the call. Krusty didn't usually call him.

"Are you free for lunch tomorrow?" Krusty's voice appeared and Shiroe wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Yes, but I'd rather not spend it with you." Shiroe walked into his living room and plopped down on the couch.

"I don't remember inviting you." Krusty was definitely smirking right about now and Shiroe should've seen that one coming.

"So why do you care?"

"Ah, you got me there. I was hoping you could come to D.D.D. and have a chat with me." Krusty replied unfazed by Shiroe rather immature response.

"Is it something important? You can just tell me now." Shiroe asked a bit suspicious.

"I want to talk to you in person about it."

"Meaning there aren't any extenuating circumstances for you having to meet me in person?"

"Come by around twelve. There'll be someone waiting for you at the front."

"Wha-wait-"

Krusty hung up and Shiroe made sure he brought his weapons with him.

* * *

"Shiroe-sama, right this way." A woman with the D.D.D. guild attire led him through the halls of the building. Krusty sure had a lot of money to buy such an amazing place independent from the guild building. Banners, portraits and other beautiful decorations lined the towering walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and Shiroe felt increasingly smaller as the minutes went by. When he finally arrived at some doors, his guide held the door open for him.

Inside the room, it was much duller than he had expected. No fancy carpets and sparkling lights. Just a plain huge roomy room. And a Krusty.

"Normally when someone says to come around twelve, wouldn't you come a bit early?" Krusty asked a bit amused that it was already long past.

"You aren't just someone though." Shiroe replied and took a seat across from Krusty at a rich brown wooden table.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Krusty smiled.

"What did you want to talk about?" Shiroe asked. Krusty pulled out some papers and handed them to him.

"We keep track of everyone who is sent to the Cathedral to make sure nobody loses all of their memories when we manage to get back to the real world. It was your idea."

"This is-"

"Why are you on the list so many times in one day?" Krusty cut him off.

"I was investigating someone and..."

"Save your excuses. I want an honest answer."

How was Shiroe supposed to tell him that he was a suicidal insomniac when he hadn't even acknowledged it himself?

"It's complicated." Shiroe said carefully and tried to read Krusty's expression. This must be why Krusty called him all the way here. If it was a call, Shiroe definitely would've hung up and avoided him until he forgot about it.

"I'm honestly worried about you as a friend." Krusty sighed and examined Shiroe's emotionless face.

"You're just worried about the Round Table." Shiroe attacked back. Wasn't he? When Krusty didn't say anything, Shiroe snapped.

"I'm not an idiot. It was only caught on file because the system is automated. My deaths took place only a week ago and nobody has accessed these papers besides you. We can erase them easily."

Krusty's unwavering gaze caught Shiroe off guard. "You are an idiot."

"Okay, I guess I overlooked this and forgot to erase them myself. But that's-"

"That's not what I mean." Krusty sighed heavily.

"Look, it was a rough day. Drop it please." Shiroe was about to get up when Krusty grabbed his wrist.

"Lack of sleep deprivation? This is dangerous for the Round Table, but its more dangerous for you." Krusty let go of his wrist and took a sip of water. "Stay for a bit longer please."

Shiroe came all of the way here for this, so he sat back down and forced a smile on his face.

"I've been a little... out of sorts lately and I guess you could say that the game has taken a toll on me. I just need some rest." Shiroe didn't see how he would manage to rest but it was probably reassuring to hear. Krusty showed no signs of believing him.

"Then stay here for the night."

Shiroe choked on nothing.

* * *

"I don't see what you're trying to accomplish. If you get someone to watch me while I sleep, they might not survive the night." Shiroe spoke and then looked over to what seemed to be Krusty's assistant.

"No pressure." He let his evil aura leak out and intimidate the poor guy.

"No, he's just a priest that should be able to determine how much you sleep tonight, so I thought I should bring him here to show you first." Krusty motioned the boy forward and he bowed before placing his hand on Shiroe's head.

"He... he didn't sleep last night." The boy blinked, beginning to doubt his abilities. Shiroe quickly moved away and sighed.

"Sweet dreams, Shiroe-kun." Krusty said as he walked out with his assistant following.

"Sir, shouldn't you have kept my ability a secret so we could see how much he would normally sleep? Now that he knows, he'll probably force himself to sleep." The assistant asked.

"I wonder if he _can_ force himself to sleep."

* * *

OMG SO GUYS THERE WILL BE A PART 2 TO THIS AND UMM WE'LL SEE WHERE IT GOES.

Not much romance in this, but I wanted it to be like a pre _dating-love-mwah-mwah-SE...SE...SECOND-DATE_ phase. Aka before they're actually in love.

I'm free this break to write, but I tend to write a few sentences and then be like OMG LOOK A POINTLESS ANIME WITH HOT GUYS and then run away.

Sorry about the wait, but hopefully another part will be up soon!

:D


	8. Close Your Eyes (Part 2)

This chapter is a rush of emotions, but I hope you guys still like the change.

I like to bring out Shiroe's dark side to extreme levels. :D

I sent out responses to your reviews and excuse my awkwardness LOL HUGS.

To Meep: OMG YOU'RE SO CUTE. WHY THANK YOU CONTINUE TO STALK PLEASE AND YOU SHOULD MAKE AN ACCOUNT SO I CAN STALK YOU.

ENJOY!

* * *

"He umm... he escaped, sir."

Krusty leaned back in his throne and was tempted to strangle someone but hid it under his practiced composure. Rolling his eyes, he thought about how Shiroe really acted like a child and everyone seemed to mistake it for being an evil genius.

"He left a note saying that something urgent came up and he had to leave immediately." The priest delicately held the piece of beautiful paper in his hands. His admiration for Shiroe's penmanship didn't go unnoticed. Krusty simply snatched the paper from his hands and ran a hand through his hair.

"Does he seriously think printing it on pretty paper makes it less obvious that he ran away?" Krusty tsked but then a smile ran over his lips.

Oh well. This just proved what he was looking for anyway.

* * *

"Krusty, you finally decided to show up." Isaac leaned back in his chair.

"Usually Isaac-san is the last one to arrive." Soujirou mused and earned a flick on the head. Isaac gave him a that-wasn't-really-necessary look but Soujirou just giggled into his hand.

"Yeah, I had some business-Where's Shiroe-kun?" Krusty looked at the empty chair and Michitaka made a motion with his hand.

"Apparently he's on a rescue mission or something."

"Seriously?" Krusty sat down and eyed the papers that someone must've received from Shiroe and passed to him.

"Shiroe-san said that you enthusiastically agreed to fill those out." Soujirou grinned and Krusty vowed to get revenge in violent, violent ways.

"Yeah, some of Log Horizon's lower leveled members went into a dungeon and haven't come back in a few days." Marielle sighed.

"Did you check the Cathedral?" Krusty kept his eyes on the papers and was fully aware, but wasn't fazed by the harsh look Marielle gave him in return.

"Yes." She gritted out.

"There needs to be some rules when it comes to members of the Round Table. For Shiroe-kun, especially." Krusty mused.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Akaneya asked with a hint of worry in his voice. The rest of the table listened intently. It always seemed to be like this when it came to Shiroe.

"I mean," Krusty hardened his gaze, "that we can't have a member of the Round Table killing himself."

"_Killing _himself?!"Marielle stood up abruptly from her chair. Krusty smiled.

"In the figurative sense, of course."

* * *

"My lord, I've cleared this floor-"

"_Yahoo!_"

"..."

"_-ACK!_"

"My lord, I just kneed this idiot in the-"

"IN THE LEG" cough. "She kneed me in the leg."

"Hey, I can take care of my own reports it was not the leg-"

"Guys." Shiroe raised a finger to his lips telling them to hush. They fell silent. Hiding behind some large boulders, they peeked over.

"Who are these kids." A man's voice echoed in the dungeon cave.

"When Shiroe-san finds us, you'll be sorry!" A _whack_ echoed in the air and there was the sound of a body falling on the floor.

"TOUYA! _How could you people do this?!_" Minori's voice screeched in their ears.

"Relax, we just knocked him out. He was being annoying." A familiar voice rang in the air.

"Let's let the kids go. They don't seem useful." A different voice said lazily.

"Wait a second, did the girl say Shiroe-san? As in the Round Table?"

"Oh my. Looks like everyone has their needs. The great Shiroe having a" The man made a disgusted noise, "fetish for little girls."

"How dare you-"

Minori went silent.

"No need to knock them out like that when I can cast a sleeping spell."

Shiroe finally recognized the voices as the five men who wanted to get into Akihabara.

"We can use the boy as a bargaining chip and take the girl with us. Who knows, she might turn out to be _extremely_ useful."

Shiroe clenched his fist.

"Let's make a deal." Shiroe approached the group without a second of hesitation.

* * *

"Marielle-san!" The frightened girl ran up to her and embraced her.

"What happened, Minori-chan?" Marielle noticed Touya trailing behind. They seemed to feel bad about interrupting the conference, but nobody at the meeting showed any signs of impatience. In fact, plenty of them seemed glad for something more interesting to talk about than the poetry festival for the People of the Land.

"Minori, they're in the middle of a meeting." Touya tried to pull her away, but she held on tight. Krusty raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"What's going on?" Isaac aimed towards Minori.

"It's Shiroe-san!" She cried pulling at Marielle.

"Minori! He told us not to tell anyone until tomorrow!" Touya managed to pull her away, but the news was already spread.

"Not to tell us what?" Krusty asked and they both froze.

"Shiroe has been taken hostage." Minori cried. Krusty took in what she said and took a second to sigh.

Then he was gone.

* * *

"What did you just say?!"

"I said, I'd rather have the guy over there interrogating me than some ugly filth-"

Punch.

"Bastard. You seemed tough when you offered to be a hostage, but you're just a weakling that doesn't know when to shut up."

"Look who's talking."

Punch.

"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"Not something I really need to think about."

The priest took a moment to breath out. Shiroe ignored the blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth and didn't break his glare.

"Can someone just-can someone just take care of this guy? He's getting on my nerves." The priest motioned for an assassin to step forward. The man pulled out some knives and Shiroe just laughed.

He was tingling with excitement as he planned what to do with them.

* * *

Krusty walked into the dungeon and the monsters around him cowered in fear, shuffling to the deepest corners of the cave.

He tracked the group through the paths and found himself close enough to hear faint but clear screaming. For a moment, he panicked. Rushing to the pitiful noises, he came close enough to hear Shiroe's voice.

"I guess I was right that you guys were after me personally. And so... who are you anyway?"

"..."

A ominous crack resounded throughout the cave and a piercing scream followed. It was not Shiroe.

"This works out actually. I can test some rather... special spells."

Krusty heard some footsteps who he presumed was Shiroe and then he realized. The atmosphere seemed heavy with _fear_.

"Why are you doing this?!" An unfamiliar voice finally spoke. It didn't look like he had been the one screaming but there was an exhausted edge to his voice.

Shiroe pulled out his staff. A strike of lightning hit two bodies and they disappeared into sparkles.

"Since they didn't do much, I'll let them off painlessly." Shiroe seemed to contemplate that for a moment. "For the most part."

"WAIT! WAIT! I'll tell you. We were sent by Nureha."

Krusty didn't recognize the name. However, something in Shiroe changed. He hid whatever he was feeling by dispatching of the other two men with horrid spells. Krusty definitely knew an enchanter-or anyone for that matter-didn't have those abilities.

Shiroe's reaction seemed to spark some confidence in the other.

"She says that she'll destroy everyone important to you. Especially, a certain someone that you seem to be around a lot lately." The priest laughed menacingly and Shiroe's eyes flashed with something that wasn't human. Before he could destroy the body below him, Krusty rushed forward and grabbed his wrists from behind. The shock didn't even register in him, when Krusty spoke softly into his ear.

"Calm down. You're taking out your stress on them."

Shiroe's body tensed and then he relaxed again.

"What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking that?" Krusty looked down at Shiroe's cloak and noticed slashes and blood all over it. "You're injured?"

Shiroe tried to wrestle his hands free. He wasn't in the mood for this.

A laugh erupted from the floor and they both glanced down.

"So you're the one that Nureha wants to get rid of. What timing." The priest cackled.

Krusty realized that the man was talking to him. Before he could question it, Shiroe whispered something under his breath and the man _melted_.

They stood in silence and it took Krusty a few seconds to realize that maybe the reason that Shiroe was so angry was because of him. Shiroe started trembling, either out of fear or anger. Maybe both. And then he went unconscious.

"It looks like we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

I was thinking about making Krusty come in and save Shiroe like a prince and carry him out into the sunset but truthfully, Shiroe doesn't need to be saved.

How's it going?

:D There will be a part three to this and I think the requests will be on hold for now because I need some time to adjust to writing these characters. I really want to write a Medieval AU where Krusty is a prince and Shiroe is his loyal servant/advisor. /toomanykoreandramasandfanfictionforme

Enjoy your weekend guiseeeeee

ROFL ISAAC X SOUJIROU CRACK SHIP.


	9. Don't Forget

Drabble time! :D

* * *

Shiroe has a condition.

He died a few times in the game. A few times, but enough times to forget. He has a condition but he doesn't know what it is. He thinks that it's something bad.

During his time in Elder Tale, he meets Krusty. He falls in love.

The only person able to match his thoughts. The only one who would hold him and never let go. He allows himself to forget his abusive family in the real world.

Krusty whispers sweet things into his ears. They turn his heart to jelly.

One day Krusty gets down on his knees and hands him a ring. It fits perfectly on his finger.

The wedding is filled with laughter and perfection. He pinches himself and no it is not a dream.

Krusty gives him a necklace on his birthday. He gently loops it around Shiroe's neck and clasps it on. Shiroe turns his head to kiss him and they both don't show up to the Round Table meeting in the morning.

Akatsuki dies. She doesn't show up at the Cathedral.

It's all his fault. He drinks and drinks but he can't get drunk. All he can do is vomit and wretch and moan. Krusty reaches his arms around him and holds him. He showers kisses everywhere and Shiroe falls asleep in his arms.

The next day Akatsuki shows up in the Cathedral. It was a glitch and Shiroe manages to breathe again. Krusty tickles Shiroe and they stay in bed all day with the sun shining on the bed sheets.

He wakes up to an empty bed and before he can panic, it sinks underneath a familiar weight. Krusty rolls his eyes playfully and whispers into his ear. He laughs like he never did before.

The next day he forgets everything and everyone.

All he can remember is that he has a condition that wipes his memory.

* * *

Okay so, I read a fanfic that made me want to cry rainbow tears. I wanted to share my pain and decided to make this heartbreaking thing.

The third part will be out next-unless motivation for something else strikes.

THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS! LOVE YOU GUISE. DON'T KILL ME FOR NOT WARNING YOU ABOUT THIS PUDDLE OF A SAD ENDING.


	10. Close Your Eyes (Part 3) End

OMIGOSH GUISE I'M BACK.

I was listening to a random playlist so music changed my emotions while I was writing this LOL it's a mix of feels.

THIS IS THE VERY FIRST TIME I FINISHED A MORE THAN ONE PART STORY-ISH THING SO BE PROUD OF ME.

JUST OMG JUST ENJOY THIS PLZ.

* * *

When Shiroe wakes up, he's greeted by the sight of Krusty sitting on the side of the bed, reading a book.

"You know..." Krusty began without looking up. Shiroe sighs.

"If you're going to ask me anything about what happened, let me warn you that you aren't getting any answers." Shiroe stares at the other with eyes that spoke of something deep. Something that he has probably been keeping secret this entire time.

"I was actually going to say that it's only been an hour since you passed out and you should go back to sleep." Krusty's lip quirks up in amusement.

"And that's all?" Shiroe raises his eyebrow.

"It's easy enough, no?" Krusty flips the page of his book.

"What's this obsession with my sleeping habits you seem to have? Maybe you don't understand but I've been this way for a long time. I'm more than capable of handling it myself." Shiroe snaps, but doesn't bother getting up.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to baby you. As long as you keep yourself in check and do your job well, I'll leave you alone." Krusty closes his book and finally looks at Shiroe.

"But it doesn't really seem like you can do that either, hmm?"

"I'm doing it just fine, thank you very much." Shiroe cuddles with a pillow and stares at the furniture organized around the large blue room.

"Sure. Leave whenever, I'd hate to keep you here long." Krusty gets up and leaves the room. Shiroe might miss the extra warmth a little more than he should.

* * *

Shiroe ends up staying there for the night-his injuries probably making him a bit more tired. Krusty doesn't mind, but he's surprised to see the other when he checks the room.

"Sleep well?" Krusty leans back on the wall next to the door with his arms crossed. Shiroe's adjusting his robes when he notices him.

"Like always." He rolls his eyes and follows Krusty out the door. While they eat breakfast, Krusty breaks the silence almost immediately.

"I did a background check on Nureha," He began and pretended not to notice Shiroe bite his lip. "You see, other than her being the leader of the west-I didn't really know much."

"What did you find?" Shiroe asks, taking a bite of his pancake. It was a really good pancake.

"It seems you were her boyfriend?" Krusty waits for a reaction and he definitely gets one.

"Normally background checks are supposed to be reliable." Shiroe remarks in disbelief and Krusty just laughs.

"Kidding. I did hear she liked you but I guess you rejected her and it led to this. Seems a bit too simple and boring for you to keep a secret though."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Shiroe makes a face and Krusty can sense this leading to something.

"Probably not, it's been a while since something interesting happened." Krusty smiles and Shiroe just sighs.

"I don't really want to go into my whole life story, but she did a lot of horrible things. Betraying people out of jealousy and wanting something that I wasn't willing to give her. I guess now she doesn't want anyone to have that something." Shiroe shrugs and had another bite of his pancake.

"Maybe it's my fault." Shiroe seemed to seriously contemplate it and Krusty didn't say anything.

Still, it never crossed Krusty's mind that it could've been Shiroe's fault.

* * *

After a touching reunion with the guild, Shiroe laughed it off and everything seemed to go back to normal. Long and tiring meetings continued and Shiroe still wasn't getting any sleep. Still, it was all falling back into place.

"Shiroe-kun, let's have lunch." Krusty threw a towel at him and Shiroe caught it with ease. Today's mission had been a large scale raid that needed various guilds.

"Yeah sure." Shiroe wiped his face and followed the other into a tent.

"It's calming down out there. All we need is a few more attacks and then we can call it day." Krusty settled down and looked over the map.

"Mhmm." Shiroe recovered his mana with potions and then threw himself on a couch. He didn't really know how it got like this, maybe it was their position as leaders? A large portion of his days were spent with Krusty and it seemed natural to be around him.

It might've been because he had this huge weight off his shoulders when he told him about Nureha. Their personalities fit extremely well (despite their otherwise harsh conversations from before) and it was easy to get along.

"Guys, since when were we taking a lunch break? Why wasn't I invited?!" Isaac barged in and stole some of the meal Krusty was eating.

"Not really a lunch break, it's just Shiroe and I." Krusty replied with a smile and Shiroe made himself more comfortable on Krusty's couch.

"Uh-huh, well okay then. I'm just going to leave with some of this chicken so you two can _be alone_." Isaac wiggles his eyebrows and before he leaves, Shiroe decides to tease.

"You might want to hurry up and _be alone_ with Soujirou because his vicious fanclub swarms him the minute he leaves his tent."

Krusty snickers. Isaac just scowls and rushes out of the tent.

"Cute." Krusty coos and Shiroe sticks his tongue out at him.

* * *

"What are you reading?" Shiroe looks over Krusty's shoulder.

"Just some history on Elder Tale."

"Reading suits you for some reason." Shiroe remarks absently and he immediately regrets saying anything.

"You know what else suits me?" Krusty smiles and Shiroe senses that he just entered some danger zone.

"Roses and sparkles?" He offers quickly and Krusty laughs.

Shiroe can't find it in him to be embarrassed.

* * *

He receives quite a few cards for his birthday.

_Happy Birthday, Shiroe-san!_

Simple and sweet, just like Minori.

_Happy for the day of your birth, my lord._

Awkward but endearing, Akatsuki.

_Stop being so boring all of the time! Happy Birthday!_

He doesn't really need to read the rest to know that it's Naotsugu.

_Why did someone give birth to you. Nah, kidding-Happy Birthday!_

Michitaka...

_Yo invite me to your lunch breaks, yeah? Happy Birthday._

Isaac, no.

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIROE OMG YOU'RE SO CUTE HAVING A BIRTHDAY AND STUFF. YOU DIDN'T TELL ME BUT I KNEW SO EXPECT A GIFT._

Marielle didn't need to put it all in capital letters.

_Cherish every single day. Happy Birthday._

Nyanta, wise as always. The cake sent was a bonus.

After tearing through countless letters, Shiroe relished in having only one more left. His breath caught when he noticed the cover decorated in roses and sparkles.

_Stop keeping secrets, Shiroe. Happy Birthday._

He was glad Krusty wasn't there to see him smiling at the letter for so long.

* * *

"I said I was sorry!" Shiroe follows Krusty into his room.

"Mhmm, you said it but you don't really mean it." Krusty starts to unbutton his shirt and reaches in his closet. Shiroe sits down at the other's desk and spins the chair towards Krusty.

"Well I don't see what's so wrong about dying. It's bound to happen." Shiroe shrugs and Krusty pauses for a moment to sigh.

"You don't get it, do you?" He throws his shirt into a bin and no Shiroe wasn't looking at his body.

"What's there to get?" Shiroe pushes it. He's not oblivious. Part of him knew that their relationship had changed, but it was never verbalized. Maybe he was secretly searching for something solid to hold onto. Krusty probably knew that too.

Krusty looks at him with a dark look, but it softens as he approaches Shiroe. Placing his hands delicately on the armrests, he invades into Shiroe's personal space.

"And just when I thought I had torn down every single one of those invisible walls you built around yourself." Krusty looks into his eyes with a predatory smile and Shiroe's insides squirm.

"It's not that easy. It never will be." Shiroe replies easily and Krusty leans in.

"I never said it was, did I?" He closes the distance between their lips and Shiroe pulls him forward to deepen the kiss.

"I'm more than willing to make the effort."

* * *

Shiroe wakes up after an amazing night of sleep and-wait.

A night of sleep?

Panicking, he reaches over Krusty-who is already awake and reading-to check the time. He had slept for nine straight hours. While he takes a moment to digest this information, Krusty starts to nonchalantly play with his hair.

"Something the matter?" He asks and slightly yanks. Shiroe scowls and sits back.

"I don't know, it's just been a while. Since I slept." There's something completely different about sleeping well and not sleeping. He feels softer inside.

"Mmm." Krusty hums and goes back to reading. Shiroe thinks about being sappy today and saying embarrassing stuff that he'll regret later but instead he gets a telepathic call.

"Hello?" He answers and Krusty glances at him.

"Shiroe, are you coming?! We have a hunting mission today-it's an emergency!" Naotsugu exclaims.

"Umm, I wasn't planning to, what's the emergency?"

"Nyanta-san... HE DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH INGREDIENTS TO MAKE CURRY TONIGHT." Naotsugu cries.

Krusty laughs behind his hand as Shiroe sprints out the door.

* * *

Just after everyone had settled-a new problem blew up in their faces.

Really, Shiroe should have seen this coming... but the minute he realized Krusty hadn't been reading books about the history of Elder Tale, it was already too late.

The book had secret records and recon information on Nureha. Shiroe had only found out the day Krusty disappeared on official business in the west.

He pulled out a gryphon and flew in that direction.

* * *

"And so... why are _you_ here?" Nureha comments coldly when Krusty appears in front of her. It was a palace that immediately let Krusty in at the mention of Shiroe's name.

"I came here to warn you about continuing to pursue Shiroe." Krusty tilted his head with a smile and Nureha's fearful aura didn't seem to faze him at all.

"What nonsense. You seriously expect me to say okay and let you go?" Nureha gripped the armrest of her throne impatiently. She wanted to violently destroy him.

"I know why you're so intent on ruining Shiroe's life. Apparently, he was the only person you were willing to devote yourself to and he wasn't interested, is that it?" Krusty states and Nureha laughs.

"How childish you make it sound. But yes, I loved him. I get that it's _wrong_ to ruin his life, so save the whole good guy lecture. The thing is... I don't particularly care." Nureha says with a grin.

"Why not do what I want to do since life is so short? What's wrong with revenge, hmm? I think you have the wrong idea, because coming here can do nothing for you. Even if Shiroe came here and begged for my forgiveness, I wouldn't stop until I crushed everything he could possibly care about."

Krusty laughs loudly and Nureha is slightly taken aback.

"Actually, I think you have the wrong idea. I never said that revenge was wrong." Krusty pulls out his sword and the guards around him pull out theirs.

"I just came here to tell you that you're messing with the wrong person. I have no problem fighting you with the same ideals. Since life is so short, I won't regret ruining your life as well. Bring it on." Krusty dispatches of the guards in one blow and Nureha bites her lip.

"Shiroe's on my side, that will never change. Out of respect for a fair battle, I won't make a move today. This is my warning to you, because the next time I see your face," Krusty drags his sword along the floor as he leaves. "I'll show no mercy."

The door shuts and Nureha screams.

* * *

"Are you stupid?!" Shiroe shouts. Krusty catches his fist.

"What's the worst that could've happened?" Krusty asks and Shiroe grits his teeth. "Tell me."

"The worst that could-you could've been..." Shiroe stops himself and can't seem to find the words.

"I thought dying is bound to happen, isn't it?" Krusty replies and Shiroe realizes that he's referring to before.

"God, I didn't mean it like-ugh I'm the one who's supposed to be upset here." Shiroe raises his hand to stop himself from crying because why was he even worried and-

Krusty grabs his wrist with a smirk and bites his ear because Shiroe assumes kissing right now isn't manly enough.

"It's alright, I forgive you. Now let's go home." Krusty calls for his gryphon.

"Wait why are you forgiving me?! I should be forgiving you!"

"Thanks for forgiving me." Krusty laughs and Shiroe realizes what he just said.

"Oh my god, you're such a jerk." He jumps on his gryphon and Krusty follows. On the way back, Shiroe learns all about what happened. When they go on their first date and Krusty buys him dinner, Shiroe decides to really forgive him.

Maybe there isn't always going to be a happy ending. Maybe the bad guy doesn't die and the problem isn't solved. But they're both ready for anything. They're happy.

Nureha is correct in a way. Life is short and they'll do what they want to do. Even if they bicker and fight-they'll live their life with no regrets.

Shiroe goes back to sleeping at a normal rate and when he moves in with Krusty, Nyanta sends him the magical curry every so often. Life is good.

Every time they kiss, Shiroe agrees that okay-maybe it's just a little perfect.

_Fin._

* * *

I also want to write a college AU so look forward to that one too!

Omg feels everywhere I've never written _Fin _before. LOL JKAY I MEAN FEELS ABOUT KRUSHI CAUSE THEY SO CUTE.

Umm yeah so REACTIONS GUYS.


	11. I'm Here

Okay so the Medieval AU is going to take some planning and I was trying to make it an actual chaptered fic so give me some time XD

Oh and I forgot to respond to some anonymous reviews from Chapter 9.

Meep (Ch 9): AHAHAHA IM SO EVIL.

bloodymaiden95 (Ch 9): LOL trust me, there will be more Krusty/Shiroe ;D

This is a drabble I made on the spot to relieve some stress LOL. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Hey, where did Krusty-sama go?"

"We need him!"

"Krusty-sama, what should we do?!"

Shiroe looked at the blinking messages on his computer screen and frowned. He was assisting D.D.D. in a guild war and the guild master wasn't there?

Fumbling with the keyboard, he sighed.

"Krusty must be taking care of something, so keep to the left and watch the skies." Shiroe explained and knowing of his experience-they obeyed.

"Why should we be watching the skies?" One asked and Shiroe rolled his eyes. He didn't bother responding, as the group of enemy mages appeared above them.

"Blow them away."

The skies that were filled with explosions in seconds. Why was Krusty always disappearing at the most crucial times? Not that he needed to be there.

Still, it was unsettling without him.

"Shiroe-sama, that was amazing!" Outbursts of the main force being held back by newbies spread like wildfire. Shiroe stared bored with the numbers-even with a platoon of newbies, D.D.D. was lacking weaknesses. He wasn't really needed there.

Then again, their large number also invites the possibility of betrayal and spies. Maybe Krusty asked him so that he could judge everyone in the new recruits. They didn't seem too cautious around him.

Shiroe called Krusty-but there was no response. Thinking about flipping his computer off so that he could start some homework, he felt arms come around him. Krusty, in a full suit of armor was behind him and he felt somewhat inferior with his plain clothing.

"How did you-?"

"Come with me." Krusty said and pushed him out of the room.

"Where are we going?!" Shiroe asked and wondered how Krusty even fit inside his room or through his doorways with his armor. Somehow they ended up outside and Krusty turned towards him with a smile.

"I have to tell you something."

His heart stopped. There was something ominously familiar about this.

Krusty spoke, but Shiroe couldn't hear anything. He shook his head and tried to explain that he couldn't hear, but nothing would come out. Even attempting to motion with his hands, Krusty failed to notice. And then everything disappeared. Shiroe didn't wonder how he had come from out of the game into the real world or how he fit through his door. He was only left desperately wondering what Krusty was trying to tell him.

Suddenly, he jerked upwards. Things came into view and he realized that he was lying in bed. He buried his head into his pillow and groaned in frustration.

Leaping out of bed, he sent a telepathic call. It only took a moment.

"Good morning, Shiroe-kun."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me what you wanted to say last night."

"Hmm? Oh, that."

* * *

_REWIND_

"We need a method of getting rid of spies. Especially from the new recruits." Krusty explained through their telepathic call. Shiroe adjusted his papers on his bed and rested them on a hardcover book. (Well, at least something came from that dream. Spies would have to wait though.)

"That goes for the Round Table as well. Surely there are some among us." He signed a few of the papers and filed them neatly on the desk.

"Oh by the way, Shiroe. I have to tell you something." Shiroe could just picture a grin appearing on Krusty's face and it bothered him.

"Yeah umm no thanks. Knowing you, it's probably unimportant." Shiroe replied smoothly.

"Suit yourself." Krusty laughed and Shiroe closed the call.

* * *

_FAST FORWARD_

"Don't leave me in suspense."

"Ah, well I was just going to say sweet dreams." Krusty chuckled.

Shiroe hung up.

* * *

Krusty disappeared at the worst times, but he made up for it for showing up at the best times. It was a relief not to worry about him leaving his computer anymore.

He's here and that's all that matters.

* * *

Wow I ruined the whole rewind thing and this drabble is a mess XDDD

Oh well, I like the idea of them talking telepathically. :D


	12. Uniquely Mine

There was something completely unique about Shiroe.

He was intent on showing the bad sides of himself, but keeping the rest hidden.

"Hey." Krusty starts but Shiroe doesn't look up from his papers. From across the table, Krusty sighs and bops him on the head.

"Ow, sorry what?" Shiroe rubs his head.

"Would you consider yourself a bad person?" Krusty half expects Shiroe to ignore the question entirely but he's quick to answer.

"Yeah. Hmm... I'm not ax murderer, but I don't do particularly _good_ things." Shiroe goes back to attacking his papers. They don't try to reassure each other, because both of them are aware that they're definitely capable of taking care of themselves.

"Then what about me?" Krusty flashes a special smile that can make almost the entire female population and parts of the male population faint to the ground. Shiroe barely bats an eyelash and he's expecting a snide comment this time.

"I fell in love with you, so you're probably doing something right."

There was definitely something completely unique about Shiroe.

* * *

I needed da fluff.

I'm back BECAUSE ITS SUMMAH TIMEEEE. HOLLAAAAAA.

_**WARNING WARNING WARNING**_ THE AU!MEDIEVAL WAS RELEASED LAST NIGHT SO. FLY. FLYYYYY. LOL **shamelessly promoting here** XD

I completely lost where I was replying to reviews, but I read all of them and AWH YOU GUYS. I'll keep all of those requests in mind kekeke


	13. AUception

GUEST APPEARANCE BY RYIZ FROM MY OTHER FIC STEALING YOUR FREEDOM.

PFFT. PURE CRACK TO PROMOTE STEALING YOUR FREEDOM AND TO ADD TO MY AMUSEMENT.

LEGIT YOU MIGHT LOSE BRAIN CELLS, I'M WARNING YOU.

* * *

"Is something wrong?" Krusty asks and Shiroe feels like chucking a stapler at a wall.

"I absolutely cannot comprehend the meaning of that question. It's too short to actually contain enough feeling to be a legitimate expression of your worrying." Shiroe runs a hand through his hair and then wipes his face with a towel.

"Well fine then. I hope that whatever is wrong with you stays wrong. We're on in five." Krusty takes Shiroe's towel and puts it on his head, walking towards the set. It is only then that Shiroe realizes he was using Krusty's towel the entire time and his face lights up like a firework.

"What's in the script this time?" Ryiz passes Shiroe a water bottle and comes around to read the paper in his hands.

"Um, I think you and Krusty are supposed to fight for my love and then realize that you have secret brotherly feelings for each other?" Shiroe reads it literally off the paper.

"Oh my god. When is the police going to arrest the script writer for going on crack?" Ryiz takes the water bottle back from Shiroe and before he can take a sip from the same bottle, Krusty comes by and grabs it.

"Guys, it's time to film. Ryiz, can I remind you that there are five gigantic packages filled with water bottles over there because the script writer wanted the shower scene to be a hundred percent Poland Spring. Can you not harass my love interest please." Krusty finishes the water and dumps it on the side.

"The script writer told you that you aren't supposed to litter unless it's School AU and you're being the bad boy." Ryiz picks up the water and tosses it towards a trash can. He successfully misses.

"Were you practicing for the Basketball AU because I didn't know you planned to be the idiot." Krusty smirks.

"You know, Quarreling Brothers AU isn't until Thursday. And that's a drabble so you guys should cut it out already." Shiroe continues eating his popcorn - hoping that'll save him from having to do the movie theater scene.

"I hope you choke on your lines during this Brotherly Love AU, so I can give you CPR and act like I want to save you - when really - I plan to kill you." Ryiz crosses his arms.

"Try it. I'll bite your tongue off so you can bleed to death and on Thursday it'll be the Bed AU."

Fanfic Film Set AU inside of Medieval AU inside of the video game.

End.

It's a small world okay.

* * *

Did you guys happen to notice that Krusty and Ryiz both say "Is something wrong?" in chapter two of Stealing Your Freedom?

LOL IT WAS ORIGINALLY ABOUT THAT. BUT THEN I WANDERED OFF. Hope you got a good laugh out of this.


	14. Cornering You (Part 1)

Shiroe has met many _many_ awful people in his life.

So you know it has to mean something when he says that Krusty is the absolute worst.

As one of the more active people during Round Table meetings, Shiroe has an idea of how everyone copes with information. There are the people who talk less but comprehend more - Akaneya is the savior of Shiroe's sanity. Then there are those people who ask more questions instead of actually coming up with answers - Soujirou, you're still adorable. And then there are those people who smile and nod but have no idea what they're discussing - he won't mention the name of any blonde smiley woman that loves to party.

The one thing all of those people have in common is that they almost never disagree with Shiroe.

Unfortunately there is one group of individuals that he forgot to mention. Rather, it would be more accurate to say _one person_ he forgot to mention.

Yes, Krusty exists for the sole purpose of deteriorating Shiroe's soul.

Not only does he comprehend **everything** Shiroe throws at the Round Table - he sees through ALL of it. Such as the weaknesses to Shiroe's plans or the ulterior motives he sometimes sneaks into his ideas (Shiroe honestly wanted to hold more parties, it wasn't because it would give him less work or anything).

Of course it was good to have someone who could keep up with Shiroe's fast pacing and wasn't asleep during meetings (Marielle, why don't you save your unlimited energy for meetings, huh?). But what ticks him off the most is that instead of Krusty offering a better idea - that he is perfectly capable of coming up with - **every single thing** he spots is used against Shiroe for his personal amusement during the course of their meetings.

"You came up with the brilliant idea of meeting with Lord Marves next month, but _conveniently _forgot how you would be taking a leave during that time?" Krusty says with enough sarcasm in his voice so that the other Round Table members would pick up on it.

"Really, I seem to have forgotten. Looks like I won't be able to participate in the meeting. What a shame." Shiroe responds with a tone of sadness etched into his voice. He organizes the papers in his hands loudly and tries to move onto the next subject. Unfortunately, Krusty doesn't let up.

"Wouldn't it be perfectly fine to meet with Marves the week after? That way you'll have time to come with us." Krusty smiles and Shiroe decides that he hates it.

"No, it would be awfully rude to keep Lord Marves waiting. It might ruin our reputation or worse, ruin the negotiations." Shiroe explains - aware of how good he is at bullshitting - and that's when the conversation starts to get uglier.

"I don't think we owe Lord Marves anything. If he doesn't agree to the negotiations, it wouldn't harm the Round Table at all." _Are you sure it isn't because you don't want to go, hmm Shiroe-kun?_

"You've failed to address my statement about the Round Table's reputation being ruined. If the negotiations mess up then he could start a war. I'm sure you're aware of his employment of Adventurers, Krusty-san. Are you suggesting that we put our people in danger?" _I'm just thinking about the people._

"The reputation of us Adventurers isn't amazing with the People of the Land anyway. By extending the deadline by _a week_, you assume he'll start a war with us? That's like saying if we're late to a meeting, then Akihabara is doomed. And even if he does start a war, D.D.D would be more than enough to handle it, _Shiroe-kun._" _Just admit you don't like Lord Marves._

"By saying D.D.D is more than enough to handle them, you also see the possibility of bad relations leading to the destruction of Akihabara, don't you? If you're late to every meeting then won't the situation in the city go down little by little? Plus, if I'm on leave during that week and some of the Round Table is away that week, it would only be a week with missing people." _I simply want to make use of our time, Krusty-san._

"I'm only saying that if there's a small insignificant chance that we have a war, D.D.D will crush it with little effort and definitely no casualties. Aren't you being too careful? Issac will be staying in Akihabara the entire time." _You're a liar, Shiroe-kun._

"Ahem." Isaac grunts.

"Did you guys fight last night or something?" Issac grins.

"No, he's just wants me to take care of everything." Shiroe defends accusingly.

"No, it's because you don't want to admit that you don't like Lord Marves." Krusty adds.

"I don't think my personal preferences need to be verbalized at a meeting!" Shiroe turns back to Krusty, irritation present.

"Well, isn't it your personal preference to take a leave next month?" Krusty comments offhandedly. Shiroe blushes for a split second but it disappears quickly. He didn't tell Krusty why.

"Fine! Make the meeting the week after then!" Shiroe slams his hands on the table.

"I think we should um. End the meeting, yeahbye." Michitaka coughs awkwardly and they all shuffle out. And so the meeting is extended to after Shiroe comes back.

A month later, Shiroe comes back from his leave and gives Krusty a bracelet.

"Happy birthday. It's has an um... gem inside that will transfer my health to you from a long distance if you err... need that. It was made from world class magic and the guy who helped me make it, Regan was only available this week or after your birthday so..." Shiroe trails off and Krusty's eyes widened.

Krusty sighs guiltily and decides that he'll let Shiroe miss the meeting and stay here. But before he can respond to apologize, someone bursts into the room.

"Shiroe-kun! Isaac-san told me you would be here. I actually made a bracelet that works the opposite way so that Krusty can transfer his health to you over long distance too." Regan hands him the bracelet. Shiroe tries to tell him something, but Krusty pulls Shiroe to his chest and covers his mouth.

"Are you Regan-san and aren't you supposed to **not be available** right now?" Krusty asks and Shiroe tries desperately to pull Krusty's hand off.

"Yes, I am Regan. And no, I'm always willing to meet with Shiroe!" Regan smiles and Shiroe stiffens.

"Shiroe-kun and I have plans for today, so we thank you for the bracelets." Krusty takes the gift, smiling. He drags Shiroe out of the room.

Much to Shiroe's misfortune, anything Krusty hasn't made Shiroe grudgingly acknowledge verbally is something he takes care of thoroughly in bed.

* * *

A/N: UPDATE! :DDD

This two-shot is a heads up for all of those who made requests!

I'm planning to fulfill them soon (first I have to organize them and possibly put some of them together). I updated my profile about it. So if you have anything you'd like to request, let me know!

I've started a new fanfic for Ace of Diamond called "Tell Me Your Secrets" which is largely based on humor so if you need a good laugh, check it out!

The second part to this two-shot is based on an idea from my bae, Kagari Higuchi. It's actually about the next Round Table meeting where Krusty keeps subtly trying to reference their activities from the night before to see Shiroe's reaction. If you have any funny or dirty references that might take place at their meeting haha let me know!

I read all of your reviews and OMG ILY GUYS! It's a bit difficult to reply to every single review, but if you'd like to chat PLEASE PM ME! I love talking about anime and yaoi and everything! LOL I'm a yaoi writer, nothing is embarrassing to talk about :3

If you haven't noticed, I joined three debate clubs in school. /running away now


	15. Our Circumstances

Instead of apologizing for my awful hiatus (ahaha) I'll meet you at the end. ;D

There's some large time gaps in this fic, but I hope it isn't too distracting. This is a request fic based on how they met dedicated to **EiraLuna, ****CatathonicNinja, ****umbreonblue, **and **GoldenGrass**! Their requests can be found after the story.

Cornering You might be unfinished for a while LOL

Happy reading!

* * *

~ Our Circumstances ~

After taking a long sip from a cup of coffee, Shiroe placed it neatly far away from his computer and pulled on his headphones. He smiled when his ears filled with the sounds of his friends chattering. When he reached for his mouse and moved his character, Naotsugu made a frustrated noise.

"How long does it take to get some coffee, Shiroe?!"

Shiroe rolled his eyes. "It's not like you guys have done anything."

Naotsugu tsked, "I've talked to at least five girls since you've been gone."

"Uh huh." Shiroe replied while zooming out from his character. The map spread out and he could see another group other than the Debauchery Tea Party mingling with them.

"Is that D.D.D.?" Shiroe asked curiously, recognizing some of the players.

"Yeah, Krusty talked with Kanami and we're already done with this dungeon anyway. We're out in ten minutes." Naotsugu explained.

"Krusty did?" Shiroe said - the name already feeling awkward on his lips.

"What hole did you crawl out of? He takes care of a lot by himself - AH - unless you're jealous that your crush Kanami talked with him, I mean that's understandable-"

"Oh shut up." Shiroe cut in playfully. He somewhat bitterly noted Kanami standing by Krusty.

"It's kind of interesting how the guilds have started to acknowledge us." Naotsugu said seriously. Shiroe hummed.

"You're still uncomfortable around guilds, aren't you?"

Shiroe didn't respond. Instead, he finished replenishing his mana that was depleted to about fifty percent. He watched the glass bottle shatter into tiny little pieces. After leaving his character alone for too long, it automatically sat down on the large grassy field. The sunlight and wind remained constant, creating a nice setting for the rest of the Debauchery Tea Party.

Naotsugu began eating what Shiroe assumed was chips as far as he could hear from his headphones. After a few moments of silence, Naotsugu spoke, "Why bother with the mana potion? You can just let it recover on the way to the next raid zone."

Shiroe took note of Naotsugu's ten percent remaining health and sighed. "You should keep everything above fifty all the time. If someone PKs you, I might just laugh at your corpse."

"Awh you know you love me too much for that." Naotsugu cooed.

"Tell me when we're leaving. I'm going to look at the Novasphere Pioneers leaks online." Shiroe said while opening a new window.

"Cool, let me know if you find anything interesting. I won't leave you to get PKed because I'm just that awesome a person."

"Dreamy. You're to die for, really." Shiroe deadpanned and scrolled through the new patches. Nothing stood out so he didn't really think much of it.

When he returned to the game, he somehow found himself zooming in on Krusty partly because he had never actually seen him in person before. Or maybe he was curious about who could be charming his half-crush Kanami. Either way, he was not surprised to see the stats of a top quality player.

"We're leaving, Shiroe." Naotsugu said as a few members disappeared from the map.

"Got it." Shiroe replied, pulling his camera back to his character. Once he logged off, the Novasphere Pioneers update page was still there. He almost forgot to write down the date, May 3rd.

* * *

"Shiroe, do you remember the raid we completed at the end of last month?" Kanami asked cheerfully and Shiroe recalled the event.

"Yes, it was one of the more difficult ones, I believe." Shiroe answered while flipping a page in his textbook, the game left open on his monitor.

Kanami made her character dance as she continued, "Could you meet up with Krusty from D.D.D. tomorrow? I was planning to trade information since they're the only ones who completed our next raid and a few of our members need to leave early."

"If we find out some things about the enemies, that would definitely shorten the time. I don't mind, but wouldn't you be better for this kind of thing?" Shiroe asked.

"No way, you're better for sure!"

Shiroe shrugged to himself and closed his textbook.

The next day, Shiroe dropped his bag next to his computer. He only had morning classes and they were all finished. He started up his computer to log on.

Shiroe had been told to wait for a private message, so he decided to do some questing while he was waiting. There was a new map that was mostly unexplored.

He found himself trudging through a snowy mountain, gathering materials. And eventually he left the computer to snag a snack from his kitchen. His quest was half complete when the message arrived.

_Krusty: Hey, meet up where we last saw each other?_

His heart stopped for a moment - questions like _He was looking at me?_ popped up in his head. But then he realized it was probably nothing special. Shiroe responded with an okay and proceeded to the nearest transport gate. The raid field from before was still as beautiful as it was the last time.

"Hey." A voice resounded in Shiroe's ears and it almost made him flinch.

"Hi." Shiroe responded.

"Were you busy?" Krusty asked.

Shiroe's eyes widened. "Oh no, I was just doing some questing. Let's get started."

"Sure."

Shiroe would consider himself to be one of the best strategists in the game but he couldn't help but be amazed at how easily Krusty rivaled him.

"You did all of this last month and you still remember each detail. That's pretty impressive." Krusty said approvingly as they started to finish up.

"You're pretty amazing yourself, to be a guild master and collect this much." Shiroe added. There was a few seconds of silence when Krusty spoke again.

"I expect we'll be seeing each other in the near future, won't we?"

"Sounds great." Shiroe said into the headset.

Both raids end up being successful, as well as their last ones before the Apocalypse.

* * *

Shiroe spread out on the grass, amazed that just a few days ago - he had been looking at this place through a screen. Resting his head on his arms, he closed his eyes and let the sun and wind drown out his senses.

"Woah there, we need a strategist for the next raid." Naotsugu knelt down next to him. Shiroe sat up slowly and nodded. "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night." He replied casually. Naotsugu rolled his eyes.

"Sleep is for the weak. Unlike panti-"

Akatsuki swiftly kneed the other in the gut and the man comically fell limp next to Shiroe.

Shiroe laughed as Akatsuki dusted off her clothes.

"My lord, are you okay?" She asked gently and Shiroe raised his eyebrow.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Shiroe ran a hand through his hair as he stood up.

"Nothing much, it's been a week and you look stressed out is all." She waved it off and Shiroe was glad she didn't see him frown. He hadn't seen Kanami and most of the Debauchery Tea Party in a while.

"Ow, that hurts. Akatsuki, you're getting… sharper. No wait, I think the right word is pointier." Naotsugu lifted himself from the ground and started bickering with Akatsuki. Shiroe was glad to have met Akatsuki and reunited with Naotsugu. He would probably go insane without them.

Not long after, Shiroe noticed two people standing farther away from them. "Hey, isn't that..."

"Ah! - It's Krusty and Isaac, the two famous guild master guardians. I heard that they've been strengthening their guilds together recently." Naotsugu filled in, slinging an arm around Shiroe's shoulder. "Speaking of which, you talked to Krusty a while back."

"Want to talk to them, my lord?" Akatsuki inquired and Shiroe didn't hesitate for a second.

"No that's alright. Let's get going." He swiftly turned around and led them in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Krusty watched the trio walk away.

"Krusty, are you even listening?" Isaac finally noticed Krusty's gaze drifting.

"Of course I was. You were talking about some monsters."

"I was talking about my sister."

"In a metaphorical way."

"..."

"Monsters are exhilarating. Lovely, even."

* * *

"Thanks for supporting the Round Table. I appreciate it." Shiroe leaned on the wall outside of the guild hall, catching Krusty as he was leaving. Krusty stopped walking and halted his aids behind him.

"It was an extremely well thought-out plan. Very admirable, not to mention advantageous for me as well." Krusty commented over his glasses and Shiroe nodded.

"I'm glad."

"I am a little confused as to what you're after personally, but I guess I'll stick around to find out." Krusty patted Shiroe's shoulder before pulling away.

Shiroe pulled on his hair, "You're thinking too hard about it." There were things he wanted to protect, and Akihabara was one of them. If he had to be a villain to do it, then he would. Simple enough.

"You probably don't realize it but you're a bit more selfish and manipulative than you think you are. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing." Krusty laughed behind his hand and walked away.

Shiroe has no idea what he's talking about.

"Hi Isaac, thanks for supporting the Round Table. I appreciate it."

* * *

Shiroe didn't usually have to resort to fighting monsters hand-to-hand as an enchanter and he also normally had Naotsugu with him to take care of any surprises, but he was being a bit less careful today. Probably because he was feeling homesick or something.

He stabbed his staff into a wolf and smacked away another. Even he needed to take out his anger sometimes.

"This is unexpected."

Shiroe recognized the voice as Krusty and didn't bother looking up.

"We run into each other a lot, don't we?" Shiroe said, unconsciously being a little gentler to the wolves. He was pretty sure that Krusty saw everything already, but men are men.

"We do."

Shiroe finished off the rest of the zombies with a spell and plopped on the ground.

"When they come back, they're yours." Shiroe figured he was here to train because of how this was one of the few spots near Akihabara that was suited for level 90+ players. It was also beautiful here.

"Thanks. What are you doing here anyway?" Krusty inquired

Shiroe raised an eyebrow. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Well, I figured you would locked away under piles or work like you normally are. I think this is the first time I've seen you fighting alone at least. Upset about something?"

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't, but it's for the same reason as every other player. What are you doing here, D.D.D. guild master?" Shiroe responded mockingly.

"Talking to you for some reason." Krusty smiled when the wolves respawned and unleashed a series of combos on them.

"It's oddly comforting, though." Shiroe mused. To think that someone with a similar personality - a person he couldn't even find in the real world - existed in this fake one.

* * *

Shiroe watched nervously from a hill as Touya, Minori, Isuzu and Rudy ran around fighting. There were tons of people around because of a special fishing event. Fishmen armies swarmed the beach, attacking players. The four of them were getting closer and closer to the water.

Nyanta appeared next to him. "They've been making progress specifically so you wouldn't have to worry."

"Yeah, my lord, they've grown strong." Akatsuki agreed.

"I'm not worried. I'm just… okay, I'm worried. What if they get hurt? They just barely made the level cap." Shiroe bit his lip. Naotsugu came around to pat him on the shoulder.

"Ah... When will this be over…" Shiroe tapped his foot gently. It was like he had children all of a sudden.

"Shiroe-kun?" Krusty walked up to the group. Shiroe greeted him and Krusty came up next to him.

"What are you doing here?" Shiroe asked, while keeping an eye on the others.

"Some of my guild members are participating so I thought I would take a look. And you?" Krusty looked at the shore.

"Same." Shiroe responded. Touya and Minori turned to him and waved.

"Shiroe-san! We caught a huge fish!" Touya waved the fish around and Shiroe laughed.

"Us too!" Isuzu called and then a few seconds later, "Gah! Rudy - don't let it go!"

Shiroe smiled and waved back. He didn't notice a pair of eyes glance over at him.

Oddly, Krusty found himself surprised with Shiroe's real smile. When he left, he made sure to mention to Misa that D.D.D. would be participating in more of those events. Only for training, of course.

* * *

"Will you please stop _being_ everywhere, Krusty-san? I think I'm getting tired of seeing you." Shiroe's magic light flickered to reflect his pretentious irritation as he stood at the entrance of a cave.

"The feeling is mutual, Shiroe-kun. But since you're obviously desperate for my company, join me already." Krusty added them in a party. Shiroe prepared to continue their verbal battle, but still attached the usual buffs to Krusty's character.

And when Krusty dives down and lifts him out of a pit of monsters, it would be physically and emotionally wrong to say that he wasn't falling.

* * *

"This is just getting creepy now." Shiroe called out while he backed against a wall. Krusty swiftly slammed his weapon at the monsters attacking Shiroe, pushing them back. When they fell back and disappeared, he swooped forward and trapped Shiroe against the wall.

"Creepy how?" He placed his hand gently next to Shiroe's head.

"You know. These coincidental meetings." Shiroe raised his hand and gripped Krusty's arm. It was mostly due to instinct and that fact in itself scared Shiroe.

"So I'm going to take a guess," Krusty leaned in a bit closer, "-that you've figured something out."

"Figured out ages ago." _That the reason we keep meeting is because you keep looking for me._

"Shall I stop playing this game of ours?" _Are you sick of me already?_

"No." _Never._

And it has never felt more natural when Krusty closed the gap between their lips, savoring the pure bliss as Shiroe submitted to the intrusion. Their first kiss was sealed with monsters approaching all around.

Yet Shiroe will only remember the warmth that lingered for much much longer after he stumbled out of the cave.

* * *

"Can we discuss why we're called the Round Table?" Michitaka blurted, expressing the unspoken vote to take a break from actual problems.

"Aren't we sitting at a round table?" Shiroe responded undisturbed and Krusty smiled behind his papers.

"I don't know. The word round makes me think of a sphere." Soujirou straightened out his hair.

Isaac tapped his fingers on the table. "It's a circle."

"The Circle Table? Circle Table Conference? Circle Table Alliance?" Marielle pondered out loud.

"What about Curvular?" Eins inputted his insightful comment.

"I think we're all tired." Akaneya promptly ended all discussion.

* * *

Shiroe took a sip of his coffee from where he sat across from Krusty in the dimly lit restaurant. Krusty without his armor still looked very impenetrable. Realizing how awkward that sounded - even in his head - Shiroe blushed and resumed reading about the newest inventions.

Krusty, witnessing the whole thing because it isn't particularly hard for him to concentrate on multiple things at once, eyed him with an amused stare.

"Something the matter?"

Cough. "This salad looks amazing." Shiroe said even though he didn't spare it a single look the entire time. Krusty simply smiled and continued reading his own papers that consisted of crimes within the city. This restaurant agreed to host the Round Table members for free in order to give them a nice change of scenery. Shiroe was definitely grateful for the private booths and special treatment.

After an hour or so, Shiroe began seeing double and he needed to reread sentences at least five times before he could comprehend anything. It didn't show on the outside, but his brain was starting to crash.

"Do you mind if I rest a bit?" Shiroe leaned his head on his arm, letting his gaze fall on the other and Krusty looked up.

"We can call it a day if you're tired." He said and Shiroe shook his head.

"No, I just need a break. I'm used to it anyway." One of the waiters brought over a glass of water, which Shiroe thanked him for.

Krusty pushed his own papers aside and leaned back. "Used to it?"

"Engineering major." Shiroe gulped down the ice water and realized this was the first time he had mentioned his real life to anybody but Akatsuki and Naotsugu. It was comforting.

"Hmm, interesting." Krusty stored that information somewhere - Shiroe knows he did.

"Not really. I figure yours is more exciting." Shiroe responded before he could stop himself.

"Curious?" Krusty leaned forward.

Shiroe wouldn't let himself fall for it. "I can pretty much guess."

"Try guessing. And when you guess wrong, you can kiss me and then maybe I'll tell you." Krusty grinned.

Shiroe scoffed. "Pretty confident there."

"Guess." Krusty amusedly folded his hands on the table.

"A prince." Shiroe stated confidently and Krusty looked a little surprised.

"I look like a prince to you?" Krusty smiled mysteriously.

"Yes." Shiroe answered on behalf of anyone and everyone. If anything made sense at all in that world, it was that Krusty was a prince. Even if he wasn't, he was.

Krusty moved to lift Shiroe's chin with his fingertips before adding, "Cute." And just like that, the touch was gone. "We'll go with that."

Shiroe scrambled back to his work, still finding it hard to concentrate. But this time it was for an entirely different reason.

* * *

"Will Log Horizon be participating in the raid event tomorrow?" Isaac asked Shiroe, bringing his guild up for the first time. Krusty, who had been chatting with Misa, turned his attention to the conversation - along with a few of the others.

"Hmm… Akatsuki, Naotsugu and Nyanta will probably be participating. I told the others to stay home." He replied.

"To think that Shiroe has a soft spot for the beginners!" Soujirou exclaimed.

"Oh shut it." Shiroe called back.

"You would be good with kids, Shiroe-kun." Krusty teased.

Shiroe rolled his eyes. "It's not like I give out balloons to children or something. The level cap is too high for the younger ones, so I did what anyone would do."

"I don't know, I would probably let them face the harsh reality of this world."

"Did you guys hear that? He called them the younger ones."

"He also said _anyone_ would do that - like he does good things!"

To which Shiroe responded, "That's it, I'm done with you people."

* * *

A telepathic call appeared for Shiroe before the sun had even come up. Shiroe pulled a pillow over his head, intending to shut out the call - but for obvious reasons, it was impossible.

The screen remained floating in the air and Shiroe waited an entire minute before sitting up.

He answered it without really looking - which was something he could never have done unless he was half asleep.

"Yeah?"

"Looks like someone just woke up." The familiar voice startled Shiroe awake.

"Why are you calling so early? It's not even breakfast time." Shiroe pulled the covers back over himself, content with talking in bed.

"You're pleasantly less insulting when you're tired and it's adorable, but get over here."

"Your bed can't be better than mine, so I think I'll sleep here."

"That's not what I meant. I found something that might interest you in the snowy mountains. Oh but you're welcome in my bed any day, Shiroe."

"Why are you in the snowy mountains at five - no wait - four in the morning? I'm flattered but once again, my bed is the best there is."

"There's someone who knows about World Class magic. Apparently the Teachings could be the key to getting back home."

"I'll be right there." Shiroe responded, looking around for his shirt.

"By the way, this is a video call." Krusty stifled laughter as Shiroe went into a panicked fit, pulling his blanket over himself.

"I was kidding. Hurry up and get down here."

Shiroe took his sweet time getting ready, hoping that Krusty was _freezing_.

* * *

Shiroe woke up to the sound of a train. He made a noise as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. It took him a few seconds to realize that his head was resting on Krusty's lap. The hand that had been caressing his neck disappeared. He looked up to see Krusty bookmarking a page in his book and placing it on the side of their bed.

They were headed for a different city by a train that had been developed from a collaboration between Akihabara's merchant guilds and a few other cities. The first-class cars were designed to be like hotels, consisting of a single room with a bed and some other furniture scattered around neatly.

"Have a nice nap?" Krusty ran his hand through Shiroe's disorganized hair. Shiroe noticed Krusty's jacket draped over himself in addition to the thin blanket.

"If only you were as soft as my pillow." Shiroe teased.

Krusty rolled his eyes. "Do you have to ruin everything?"

Shiroe sat up and brushed off his clothing, hugging Krusty's jacket close to him.

"There's food over there if you're hungry." Krusty motioned towards the other side of the car, where a table of assorted foods lay. Shiroe watched as the light filtering through the curtains highlighted the white room while the train ran past the greenest trees. Flickers of shadows trickled into the room. It felt amazing.

Krusty pulled Shiroe's waist towards him and rested his chin on Shiroe's shoulder.

"I never bothered to ask, but I'll do it just in case. I assume that you know we're dating?" Krusty planted a light kiss on Shiroe's neck and Shiroe leaned back into the touch.

"Of course." Shiroe responded immediately.

"Good." Krusty proceeded to carry Shiroe over to get food - and noted smiling that Shiroe wore his jacket the entire time.

* * *

"There's a special game event that we need to take care of. It's something similar to the Goblin King event but it's shorter." Shiroe said.

"The Dragon Slayer event?" Krusty recalled. Shiroe nodded.

"It's suited primarily for tanks. Most of the Black Sword Knights are getting ready to participate." Isaac vaguely remembered Rezarick nagging about preparing.

"Honesty will probably be sitting this one out. We want everyone in top shape for our private training camp next week." Eins explained.

"The West Wind Brigade is all set up for it. As Isaac-san said, I'll be sending almost entirely tanks who wish to attend. I already planned to let them go with Black Sword." Soujirou agreed.

Shiroe looked to Krusty who nodded.

"I can lead the event with Isaac. The event should only take about three days, give or take." Krusty put in, bringing the issue to a close.

"That's settled then. I'll attend as well." Shiroe said and Krusty sent him a look.

When the meeting was over, Krusty waited for Shiroe outside.

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't go." Krusty crossed his arms.

"I changed my mind." Shiroe decided. "Is that a problem?"

"I'm not letting you come." Krusty shook his head.

Shiroe side-eyed him and started walking.

Krusty followed him, irritated. "You're strong - yes - but we went over this. It's particularly unsuited for you. Not because I think you're weak, but enchanters spark more aggro for these dragons. You know that."

Shiroe was well aware of the unfortunate flavor text involving enchanters and dragon tamers. Krusty mentioned that Shiroe should stay home and he didn't think much of it at the time. But maybe out of immaturity or whatever, it felt like he was being left behind. Really, they weren't even staking their lives here.

"I do. And I can take care of myself." Shiroe responded harshly. Krusty snapped and pushed Shiroe to the ground. Luckily, they were behind one of the unpurchased buildings so nobody had noticed.

"You didn't even want to go until I mentioned it last night." Krusty whispered seethingly, pinning Shiroe's wrists to the grass.

Shiroe glared up at him. "Because you don't think I can handle it."

"I already told you-"

"You're lying. You just want to pretend that I'm some housewife waiting at home while you're off playing war. But I'm not, so **get over yourself**." Shiroe shot back.

"You're not a housewife, you're my boyfriend. So listen to me." Krusty said calmly.

"If you love me, you would let me go with you." Shiroe stated clearly. Krusty pressed harder, gritting his teeth.

"Shiroe, don't you dare pull that on me. I don't know what you're trying to prove, but you're confusing two things that contradict each other."

"You're the one trying to prove something!"

"Why do you even think I'm not letting you go?"

"You have no right."

"_I have no right?"_

"I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions!"

"Why are you being so defensive?" Krusty loosened his grip and Shiroe pushed him off.

"We'll talk about this tonight." Krusty said as Shiroe stormed off.

* * *

Their first night together doesn't go as well as their first kiss did.

"Get off." Shiroe yelled as Krusty pressed him down to the bed. After hours of pointless arguing, Krusty was done using words. He was not nearly kind enough to allow Shiroe to win here.

"If you can't comprehend how much I fucking care about you - we can just pass a point where we can't go back." Krusty remarked bitterly, unbuttoning his shirt. "Good enough for you, Shiroe?"

"You're proving nothing." Shiroe snarled. "But hey, if it makes you feel better - then why the fuck not." And Krusty locked his legs and arms down, leaning down so their lips almost touched. That second of anticipation lit a flame in Shiroe's chest and Krusty knew from the darkened look in his eyes.

And oh how satisfying it felt to deny Shiroe of the one thing that would confirm his forgiveness. Instead of kissing him, he backed away.

It would take so little time and effort to completely ruin everything they have.

"What are we doing?" Krusty thought out loud - more to himself than to Shiroe. He took a deep breath and lifted himself up.

Shiroe rolled to the side, cradling his head in his arms.

They sat in a dreadful silence and for a moment, they both expected to hear the words they feared the most. That it would all be over because of something stupid like this.

Shiroe didn't even realize how quickly he opened his mouth. "I'm sor-"

A pillow hit Shiroe in the face and muffled his apology. Krusty moved to the edge of the bed and began buttoning his shirt back.

"Go to sleep, idiot."

When Shiroe let sleep begin to overtake his senses - only then did Krusty whisper his own apology. A hand reached out and pulled Krusty down to the bed.

They both understood it was an apology to reassure them of a forever, rather than admitting they were wrong.

And it was just fine that way.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Leave before I change my mind." Shiroe crossed his arms. Krusty smiled, reaching for a quick kiss.

"Don't cheat on me too much while I'm gone." He whispered into Shiroe's ear.

Shiroe jerked away slightly but smiled teasingly, "Define too much."

"Very funny." Krusty said, ruffling Shiroe's hair. Shiroe couldn't help but realize that he was shorter and Krusty could do stuff to his hair without it looking awkward.

"The only thing I need to worry about is you overworking yourself."

"As do I."

"Paperwork and fighting are two different things." Krusty admitted.

Shiroe laughed, "I don't see your point."

"I'll be back soon."

* * *

"Nureha, I'm in a relationship." Shiroe eyed her sympathetically but determined.

"That can be fixed." Nureha responded, undeterred.

"No, that won't be necessary."

"We could work around it."

Shiroe grimaced. "No, we can't."

"Is it because of her boobs?" Nureha blurted out abruptly.

"Umm…no… well yeah… sorta?"

* * *

"Lenessia, I'm in a relationship."

"Oh I see."

"I'm truly sorry."

Lenessia blushed. "No! It's really fine. I'm sorry to disrupt you while you're doing an important event."

"That's alright. Hey, I need to go over there and kill some monsters so-"

"Wow, this is embarrassing - I'm so - yeah I didn't mean to - right - this doesn't really mean anything, we've only recently met. I'd appreciate it if you'd maybe possibly forget about all this because-"

"No need to worry." Krusty cut in, not out of rudeness but because of the fact that there was a **dragon army** surrounding them and it was probably not the best time.

"Is it because of her breast size?"

"Definitely."

* * *

"I think I might've lied about something in a really bad way. But it wasn't really a lie… I guess?" Shiroe explained in a call with Krusty.

Krusty thought for a moment. "Really? I don't think I've ever done that before."

* * *

"We're back." Krusty marched with his men into Akihabara. He had been in constant contact with Shiroe up until last night, but it was still utterly boring without the other man around.

"Great, did everything go well?" Soujirou asked and people from the city started to greet the returning players.

"It was awesome. We'll divide up the rewards at today's conference." Isaac explained.

Krusty raised an eyebrow. "Where's Shiroe? He said he would be around here."

"Ah, Krusty-san! There was an emergency and Shiroe couldn't come. He said to go get some rest." Marielle ran up to him.

"What happened?"

Marielle bit her lip. "He said not to say anything." Krusty sighed.

"I'm planning to track him down anyway, so just tell me the reason. I won't mention that you told me."

Marielle looked a little skeptical, but she seemed burdened that nobody else knew. "He should be at the library down the street. It has to do with Log Horizon's members being hurt by some nobles. If it's Shiroe, then he's planning to take some rash actions on his own."

* * *

Shiroe leaned against one of the bookshelves hidden in the third floor of the library. It was quiet and dark, just how he liked it. Flipping through book after book led him to one conclusion.

The group of nobles that had bumped into Isuzu and demanded her to lick their boots were from the same group that had blatantly harassed Minori and pushed Touya to the ground.

He had been lucky enough that Rudy arrived in time to surprise them enough to run - saving Isuzu, but Touya and Minori were not so lucky.

These nobles were from lineages that go way back - enough to make them legends.

And Shiroe was going to end it here. They were specifically targeting members of Log Horizon because of him. Most of them could defend themselves at least, but these people travel in large groups.

Slamming the book closed, Shiroe slid down to the ground and hung his head. The bruises that the twins came back with still lingered in his mind. Killing the attackers would be the most favorable option, but if he chopped off some limbs - it would be a constant reminder to think hard about messing with them.

This would all be conducted in secret by himself and his victims will be forced to keep their mouths shut. Hopefully if he worked this out right, it would seem as if it was simply karma. He had the reputation of the Round Table to preserve on top of his guild.

"And what are you thinking about with that scary expression?" Krusty said as he looked down at him. Shiroe lurched back.

"God, you scared me."

"I assume you're going to go hunt some people down?" Krusty went on his knee so he could look Shiroe in the eyes.

"Of course." Shiroe responded, pulling a mask over his mouth. When he moved to get up, Krusty pulled him into a kiss. The kiss went over his mask, but his heart didn't beat any less.

"Need help?"

"No."

"Hurry back then."

Shiroe smiled at his boyfriend and pulled his mask down for a moment to kiss him on the cheek. As he stood up and began walking away, he paused and turned around.

"Oh and welcome home."

* * *

"Back already?" Krusty lifted his head from the pillows and Shiroe hung his coat up.

"Yeah. Sorry to wake you." Shiroe responded.

"I wasn't sleeping."

"Then go to sleep."

"It's only nine."

"Why are you in bed then?"

"Keeping it warm for you." Krusty motioned for him to come over.

Shiroe yawned. "Let me shower first."

In an hour, Shiroe climbed into bed and into Krusty's arms. Shiroe didn't feel like talking about the things he did that day and Krusty understood that much.

"Do you want to join D.D.D.?" Krusty asked while pulling Shiroe closer. Shiroe placed his glasses on the side and moved closer to get a better view of Krusty's handsome features.

"I'm not really comfortable around guilds." Shiroe said and Krusty laughed. Shiroe then realized that he was in a guild. And he made it.

"Wait no - I'm not just making up an excuse. Large guilds aren't really - um - too many - the people -"

"Shy?" Krusty bit into Shiroe's ear. Shiroe pushed at Krusty's chest to get away.

"I'm not really sure myself. The Debauchery Tea Party was different. Not that I don't trust you-"

"Shh. I thought I'd ask but it's definitely not important. Don't worry so much." Krusty murmured.

Shiroe was silent for a moment. Then something dawned on him. "I just realized how quickly we've gotten into the habit of sleeping with each other and such."

"That's because I set goals for each week." Krusty grinned.

Shiroe's eyes widened. "Wait what?!"

"I'm kidding." Krusty laughed, closing his eyes to sleep.

"Are you really?" Shiroe hit Krusty in the shoulder.

"I don't actually plan anything out, but I think I have this unconscious mental checklist with time limits going on."

"That's weird."

"Is it?"

"It is."

"If I had a goal for this week…"

Shiroe blinked and then immediately blushed.

"Ah. Looks like I don't have to say it." Krusty smirked.

"Oh my god. I think I'm in too deep."

"_Not the only thing that's going to be in too deep~"_

"_Shut up!"_

* * *

"Apparently, those annoying nobles have completely left Akihabara without a word!" Karashin explained and there were a couple raised eyebrows.

"Took them long enough." Michitaka commented.

"Unfortunately, there's a problem. A huge army is headed this way." Isaac mentioned seriously. "Of those nobles."

Shiroe bit his lip, realizing he should have just killed them. Shit, he screwed up badly.

"How is it a problem?" Krusty asked.

"Hired adventurers." Eins slid some papers over to Krusty and Shiroe.

Shiroe's chest began to squeeze. "Killing people of the land might cause a rift between them and adventurers." As the table began bickering over solutions and Shiroe tried wracking his brain for a solution - Krusty telepathy called him.

"It's not your fault."

"How is this not my fault?"

"Because they started it."

"Still-"

"We'll figure something out."

"This is an army we're talking about, Krusty."

"Are you forgetting about me?" When Shiroe looked up, Krusty winked. "I'll be behind you." Shiroe took a deep breath and nodded. "In addition to my conveniently strong guild." Shiroe smiled. His silence alerted the rest of the table.

"What should we do, Shiroe-san?" Soujirou asked and the others awaited his input.

Shiroe stood up and placed his hands on the table, examining the papers. "We have to assume that those hired adventurers don't realize that their memories will be affected if they die. And we can't just fight it out - it'll cause way too many problems."

"What should we do?" Michitaka sighed in relief that Shiroe was here.

"According to this information, they'll arrive in about a week. Once they arrive, we'll have to negotiate with the adventurers first. After they lose their support, I can personally handle negotiations with the nobles. Our last resort is to wipe them out."

"How would we negotiate?" Akaneya asked.

Shiroe smiled. "It only takes a little research to find a person's weakness."

Some bittersweet smiles and half-hearted laughs accompanied Shiroe's aura of darkness.

"As of now, we're assigning a border patrol. They can kill monsters or do quests or whatever, but as long as they're there, it'll suffice. The Round Table should make an announcement about the army - we can't keep a secret like this from the people. Krusty, can I leave that to you?" Shiroe asked - due to his villain reputation and how he was a little tiny bit scared, he couldn't exactly do it himself.

"Easy enough." Krusty responded, crossing his arms.

Shiroe felt a huge weight off his shoulders and sighed mentally. Krusty probably heard it telepathically as he responded, "_Do I ever say no to you?"_

Shiroe could definitely refute that, but he felt too grateful for having such a perfect boyfriend that he simply smiled. He was smiling a lot lately, it was scary if anything.

"The Black Sword Knights can handle the border patrol." Isaac grinned.

Marielle cheered, "I can take care of meals! Crescent Moon burgers are in season!" Many of them laughed and began discussing preparations. Meanwhile, Shiroe began checking out the various guilds involved.

"Hey guys…" Shiroe's eyes widened.

"What's up, Shiroe-san?" Soujirou asked.

"We know some of these guilds." Shiroe motioned for Soujirou to come over.

Soujirou blinked. "Ah! We met some of these during our tea party raids..."

"Really? So can you convince them to back down?" Krusty asked.

"Yes, of course. They aren't the type to go along with People of the Land though. I'll call one of them right now." Shiroe recalled his last conversation with one of the guild leaders. The man had asked if Shiroe wanted to join his guild. Shiroe's hand slightly wavered at the call button. Would it be weird to call someone that he rejected? And make a request of him? He didn't know him that well, either.

"What's the matter, Shiroe?" Marielle asked. Shiroe suddenly realized how long he had hesitated.

"I need a minute." Shiroe left the room and walked slowly down the hall. Guilds were commitment and they aren't meant to be treated like a plague. Were Shiroe's actions insulting anyone?

Why had he used that excuse to not join D.D.D.? He should've said that he wanted to stay with Log Horizon instead of bringing up guilds in general. Is that all he could think of at the time?

What was he doing?

Arms went around his waist and Shiroe was halted in his tracks.

"Are you okay?" Krusty asked. When Shiroe didn't respond, he spun him around.

"You're sweating." He moved to touch Shiroe's forehead.

Shiroe instinctively backed away. "Are you mad at me?" He realized that the question was stupid - he didn't even know why he was asking. Too many questions were fluttering around his head and that was all he could say. Yet Krusty always seemed to know what Shiroe wanted to hear.

"No. I'm not mad at you." Krusty replied.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." Shiroe covered his mouth.

"Who are you calling?"

"A guild master." Shiroe responded.

"Ah." Krusty acknowledged. He then walked over and hugged Shiroe from behind again.

"Make the call now. If anything happens, I'm right here." Shiroe was about to protest when Krusty continued. "And that'll also be our excuse for us being out so long together."

Shiroe reluctantly gave in and started the call.

"Shiroe? It's been a while!"

"Yes it has."

"What's up?"

"I'll get straight to the point. I wanted to ask about the nobles you're helping at the moment."

"..."

Shiroe held his breath.

"Don't tell me… Are you in Akihabara?!"

"Well, yeah."

"We were told that Akihabara had a bunch of adventurers that were massacring the people of the land. Most of us here have established that people of the land are also humans, so we were going over there. But if it's you, then it's probably not the case. We'll pull out and let the others know."

"Thank you so much! I'll clear things up with the nobles." Shiroe responded thankfully.

"No problem. And Shiroe-kun, my offer is still open! There's nobody quite like you."

Shiroe sighed in relief and exited the call. He jumped out of Krusty's arms and kissed him.

"Not too bad, right?" Krusty asked and carried Shiroe most of the way back - despite the other's protest.

* * *

A week had passed and everything had been sorted out.

"So they were tricking the adventurers this whole time?!" Michitaka asked in disgust.

"How horrible." Soujirou added.

"The issue wasn't as horrible as we thought it would be." Eins sighed.

Shiroe chimed in cheerfully, "Better safe than sorry."

"Did you finish dealing with the nobles?" Krusty asked, realizing the reason Shiroe was in such a good mood.

"Yes."

Isaac took in Shiroe happy aura and shuddered. "I'm not gonna ask."

The meeting ended early that day.

* * *

Shiroe hugged his knees to his chest on top of Krusty's bed. He spent what felt like hours thinking and rejecting his thoughts. When Krusty came in after a shower, Shiroe's face turned red.

"You already know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"

Krusty smiled, "I want to hear you ask it anyway."

Shiroe groaned and put his head in his knees. "Don't make me."

Krusty laughed. "Okay, I won't." He said simply and walked next to Shiroe, dropping his knees onto the mattress. He played with Shiroe's bangs until the other lifted his head up.

"Have sex with me." He said casually, without a hint of the earlier embarrassment. Krusty could see him gripping the blanket extremely hard though.

"Of course. I'll be gentle-"

"Ugh, you're making me throw up."

Krusty hummed and pushed him over.

* * *

In the morning, Shiroe opened his eyes to see that Krusty looked like some sort of model with the sun highlighting his features. Tiptoeing out, he cringed at the slight discomfort in his backside. Considering how early Krusty normally woke up, it wouldn't be a surprise if he woke up soon.

Taking slow and steady steps over to the balcony, Shiroe pulled open the doors. A gust of wind rustled his pajamas and made him shiver. The sun didn't really feel warm today.

As he stepped out towards the railing, he could hear Krusty getting up.

"I just came out here for-"

"-fresh air?" Krusty teased as he stepped out onto the balcony, draping Shiroe in a blanket. He stepped back in the room to pull on his shirt.

Shiroe's expression turned confused. "How did-"

"-you know what I was thinking?" Krusty finished again, smiling to himself.

Shiroe rolled his eyes.

Krusty glanced at the other. "I know what you're thinking all the time."

"Yeah right, anybody could've guessed that stuff."

Krusty turned around and smirked at Shiroe. "What about how you're still thinking about last night? Particularly that moment when I discovered your neck is super sensitive and that you love it when I-"

"_Stop it!" _

Then Shiroe blushed and quickly looked away.

"And you blush because you were screaming those exact words all night long."

Shiroe held his hands up. "Okay! Okay, I get it. How do you do it, oh so amazing mind reader?"

Krusty laughed. "It's not mind reading. It's because you're intelligent but so overwhelming kind, gentle, sacrificing… shy. Not to mention, a frequent liar with awful tendencies." Krusty lied down on the bed. "You're not that complicated, Shiroe."

"And you're probably the only person that thinks that." Shiroe crossed his arms.

"Good."

"My turn to embarrass you. You're overprotective, strong, sappy… lousy, rude, perverted… A little bit intelligent - I mean I think you have a brain but-"

"Aren't you going to mention my d-"

"No."

"-dreamy personality."

Krusty laughed as he looked Shiroe up and down from where he was cocooned in the blankets.

"Marry me."

"Yeah."

* * *

I've looked over this so many times and I got tired of reading it LOL. I wish I developed their meeting more and I'm quite unsatisfied, but hopefully I'll write something more fitting another time.

Requests this had been based on:_  
March 2  
_**EiraLuna**: From my prespective Shiroe is a gentle person that ready to do anything for his precious friends but he doesn't care his own reputation...meanwhile Crusty tends to be forceful (like with Reynesia) but he's fascinated by Shiroe capabilities. What about writing how they became closer? heheheh  
_April 4  
_**CatathonicNinja**: the meeting - first meeting and impressions, I mean, Shiroe's reputation is a bit.. and his aversion to guilds... maybe Krusty sees the true side of Shiroe by accident (because his interactions with his guild members are really sweet :3 or seeing "the villain" in action and understanding it's for a good cause...  
_April 17  
_**umbreonblue**: i wanna see shiroe and krusty's first kiss!  
_April 18  
_**GoldenGrass**: You could make a story about when they meet for the first time after the Apocalypse.

I overuse the sleep thing a lot, but it's just because I'm sooo tired when I write idk why  
IF I CAN'T SLEEP, THEN SHIROE WILL **writes furiously**

And I was planning to describe that awful first night and make it much worse, but I chickened out :P  
The half-hearted lemon is hiding in my documents and unfortunately it will never see the light of day. Wayyy too embarrassing AHAHAHA

I'm keeping up with your reviews! - THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS :DD shoot me a pm if you want to talk in person eeep heart heart kiss kiss  
and school has slowed down my updates but I'll definitely keep them going. Requests are always welcome! THAT'S ONE DOWN.

Even though it's super late, Happy 2015 everyone! :D


	16. This Awful World

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS. I get a notification for every little thing and usually stalk all of you ahahaha

GUESS WHAT. **I made a KruShi tumblr**. YEYEYEYYEYEY it's krustyxshiroe dot tumblr.  
it's for krushi drabbles and i'll respond super quick there! (more info at the end)

ANYWAY BECAUSE I LEGIT WROTE TWO REQUEST FICS BUT IM UNHAPPY WITH THEM AND HAVE TO REDO THEM - I'm posting this here for now.

Okay, so its kind of... yeah...:  
**AU!BATTLE ROYALE**  
**WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH, BLOOD, DEATH, VIOLENCE, DEAD PEOPLE, CURSING, NOT ALIVENESS, ANGST, DYING**

* * *

Michitaka's dead body falls to the ground at Shiroe's feet. At one time he might have been in shock - might have thrown up right there. Instead, he takes Michitaka's sweater and machine gun off his person and drags the body behind a tree. The cartridge was completely full which made him an innocent man.

But it was only a matter of time.

Gunfire can be heard to the west and Shiroe ducks down, running out of range of the dead body. He taps his right wrist and an icy blue hologram hovers over it. A few people are still in the running, but many are already dead. He sees that Kanami is alive. He wants to find out why her condition is so strange.

KANAMI

STATUS: ALIVE

CONDITION: DETERIORATED

At this point, he didn't particularly care. He couldn't feel anymore. Finding Kanami and determining her situation was the only thing that kept him moving.

_"Shiroe, why is Naotsugu lying there?"_

An arrow flies by his head and he sprints to the right, hurrying along the side of an abandoned building. If it's an arrow, then...

"Isn't it funny? That it turned out like this..." William's voice is hysterical, but calm. Shiroe won't be mourned even if an arrow pierces his skull. And he doesn't respond become the endless hours here have taught him something. He hated the sound of his own voice.

So he remained quiet, taking Michitaka's gun and his own ropes while disappearing into the shadows. William walked leisurely, picking up his missed arrows from the ground. When he reaches for one, a rope twists around his ankle - pulling him into the air.

He doesn't even seem surprised. "I thought you were Michitaka, but when you didn't say anything I realized that it was someone else. Shiroe. I'm glad it was you."

Shiroe steps out and shoots him in the head. He lets go of the ropes and William's body drops to the ground. He snaps the bow under his boot and picks up the pointed metal arrows instead.

_"Henrietta loved you! Touya and Minori too, they wouldn't want you to do this!"_

He grips his head and when he removes his hands, they're stained with blood. He hears voices from the right and takes his rope back.

"William went this way. We need to calm him down." Dinkuron's voice is nervous. Shiroe will never hear it again.

At the end of the day, the hologram shows that everyone affiliated with William is dead. One of the walkie-talkies that he gets his hands on is connected to every player. People call out to each other and wonder who did it. Who is this mysterious mass murderer?

_"Don't you get it, Marielle?! None of this matters anymore - not until they're all dead."_

Shiroe pulls the strap of his backpack closer. The sun is rising and he just had five hours of sleep. Darting into the forest was one of his worst mistakes.

"My lord?" A voice can be heard from the tips of the trees and Shiroe doesn't respond. He merely continues running, as far as he can.

Akatsuki.

"My lord! Wait up!" She shouts, her speed allowing her to almost catch up. Shiroe doesn't turn around until her voice stops. The forest is silent and suddenly, a body falls from the trees, landing with an ominous thump.

"Apparently the holograms update the deaths a little late. Akatsuki is still shown to be alive right now." Roderick's voice sounds clearer in the silence of the forest. Shiroe didn't turn around when Akatsuki was calling, but he does now.

Shiroe becomes a force. He enters a normal area and when he leaves, it becomes a graveyard.

_"We're all in this for the same reason."_

Someone or something important to them is threatened and so they fight.

Days pass and the numbers are stabilizing. Less people are dead. Shiroe discovers the reason why in a matter of minutes. The largest building on the island is occupied by the strongest. A haven where the strong protect the weak to rebel against the system. But _they_ won't stand for it.

The walkie-talkie tells him that the alliance is being led by Krusty and Isaac. It runs out of battery shortly after and he learns nothing more.

However, he isn't looking for anybody there. So he moves on.

* * *

"Sh-Shiroe? Where's my daughter?" Kanami huddles in the corner of the room, her face in utter terror and pain. Deteriorated was a generous term for her condition.

"Kanami, calm down." Shiroe tries to coax her but she screams at him and backs farther into the wall. She's aiming her gun at him and he doesn't know why he cares. It wouldn't hurt him to die by her hand. Why is he hesitating?

Because this isn't the real her.

"That someone special." A voice comes from behind him and he whips around. It's Krusty.

"The one that they're using against us. It must be her daughter."

"Shut up!" She screams and Shiroe lunges for Krusty, stopping Kanami's bullets from hitting him. She wails.

"You have to put her out of her misery." Krusty comments and Shiroe is crying.

She's gone. They injected drugs into her a long time ago, because she had been a beacon of hope for the players. But now she was gone.

"I can't do it." Shiroe shakes his head.

"She's your special person, isn't she?" Krusty whispers.

Shiroe can only nod and grit his teeth. "If I let her die, then I'll kill myself."

"Then don't look." Krusty whispers as he gets up. Shiroe panics and tries to push him down. The shot that zings through the air has Shiroe sobbing.

Krusty covers his eyes before Shiroe can look and injects something into him.

The minute Shiroe wakes up, his mind is unclouded. He reaches for a scissors on the tray of medical equipment and doesn't hesitate to try to take his own life.

Someone grabs his wrist and is strong enough to pull it away.

"I killed William. I killed Roderick. Let me die." Shiroe sits up, but there's only one person in the room.

"Don't let anyone hear you say that." Krusty says.

"How are you guys even rebelling against _them_?" Shiroe asks without emotion.

"We're pretending to be a facility where the strong preys on the weak and uses them. They don't mind that. We even pretend to lure people in through the walkie-talkies when we honestly plan on helping them. There are no cameras in certain areas."

"Why are you helping people? Why are you still trying?"

"Because I already got my revenge. Kanami killed Misa and Rieze." Krusty says.

"You fucking lied. So you just killed her for your own sake-"

"Exactly." Krusty doesn't even flinch when Shiroe pulls a knife on him.

"You have more people to kill, don't you?" Krusty stares.

"Yes." Shiroe drops the knife and gets up.

Krusty looks him in the eyes. "Then add me to the bottom of the list. Once you kill me, you'll have a hard time getting out of this building alive. Isaac won't just stand still, you know."

"What are you even-"

"I'll help you." Krusty pushes him into a wall. "I need a new special person, you see."

"Funny, so do I."

And he kisses him.

* * *

Every single person that caused the death of Shiroe's friends is annihilated. Krusty doesn't even blink when Shiroe rips them apart.

Life has never been so meaningless.

Blood replaces oxygen. But more importantly, Krusty replaces life.

_"We all have a reason. It just depends on who's reason is the strongest."_

"Aren't you going to kill me?" Krusty asks while it's Shiroe's turn to row their boat. Shiroe stops rowing to sit on Krusty's lap. "We still have more people to kill. I've postponed you."

"Really?"

Krusty kisses Shiroe and bites at his lip. Shiroe frowns at the metallic taste.

"Seriously."

"Pain is the only thing you react to lately." Krusty licks the wound and he winces. "Who else is on the list that you so generously postponed me for?" He glances down at the ocean they're on and Shiroe notices his eyes trail to the sea of bodies stretching for miles off the island. Every person who did this to them was doomed to float in this ocean forever.

"Me. I'd rather die than live in a world without you in it."

"How romantic." Krusty spins them around and pins Shiroe to the bottom of the boat. "Unfortunately my list is the opposite."

"So we wait?"

"I'll tell you a secret." Krusty licks his lips and kisses down Shiroe's throat. "I lied to you. I didn't kill Kanami because of Misa and Rieze."

Shiroe is silent, so Krusty continues. "I was jealous."

"You were jealous." Shiroe repeats.

"You've always been my special person."

There's more silence and Krusty breaks it forcefully by biting into Shiroe's hip.

Shiroe gasps. "How romantic."

"That's it?"

"I have a secret too."

Krusty raises an eyebrow.

"I was jealous so I killed Misa and Rieze." Shiroe runs a hand through Krusty's hair.

"We're awful people, aren't we?"

"This world has been awful to us."

* * *

Yeah, I know. I did it.  
I KILLED MICHITAKA OHMYGOD. HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE LINES. FORGIVE ME, MICHITAKA LOVERS

this was inspired by a battle royale-esque video game. it was pretty well made - its just that when i attack anyone i run into, i usually end up losing. ;P

THE FLUFF IS ON ITS WAY, HOLD ON GUYS

so as for the **tumblr** i made :D

its really simple, please check it out - once again its krustyxshiroe dot tumblr (there's a link on my profile)  
i can respond quickly with short fics and drabble things and more smut (im actually going to try okay so KINK IT UP)  
there's also a royallymadhatter page that will have my current projects and sometimes the date i plan on putting them up - if you're curious

this sounds like fun!


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